Vodafone India has withdrawn its plea against the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) from the Delhi High Court. The plea alleged that DoT was indulging in "arm-twisting" and "coercive" tactics by refusing to sign its unified licence (UL), till the telecom major unconditionally accepts the "restrictive" clauses in the licence.
The petition was withdrawn after a bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Siddharth Mridul agreed with the government of India that as per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act there was an alternative remedy available before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).
A few days ago, the company had contended in its plea that the DoT showed them a copy of the UL only on November 3. The company had on November 5 written to the government to remove the "restrictive clauses" prohibiting the telecom major from entering into intra-circle roaming (ICR) pacts,” as per the report.
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It had submitted that said restrictive clauses in the UL take away the rights already granted to petitioner and as upheld by TDSAT on April 29, 2014.
"Writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn," the court said and gave liberty to Vodafone to approach TDSAT. During the brief arguments, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for Department of Telecommunications (DoT), said that as per TRAI Act, Vodafone is a licensee and thus should have moved TDSAT.
