SC stays Trai notices on mobile operators plea

NEW DELHI: Private GSM operators today got a reprieve from Supreme Court, which has stayed regulator TRAI's notices asking them to refund excess charges levied from customers on calls made to the networks of PSU telecom firms like BSNL and MTNL.

A bench headed by Justice H K Sema, while staying the refund notices issued by TRAI, also asked the regulator, BSNL and MTNL to file their replies within three weeks.

Cellular Operators Association of India and private GSM mobile operators including Reliance Telecom Ltd, Aircel Ltd, BPL Mobile Communications, Bharti Televentures, Idea Cellular, and Hutchison Essar had challenged telecom tribunal TDSAT's order asking private GSM mobile operators to stop charging differential tariffs for calls terminating on the PSU networks in four states of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.