Telecom Sector: The common man should be made aware of his rights, said- Chief Justice of Bombay High Court

Telecom Sector: Justice Upadhyay said that since the lawyers and members of TDSAT are well acquainted with the rules, laws and legal nuances of the sector, they should guide the people as per the age-old principles of dispensation of justice – equality, fairness and good faith.

The common man, be it a villager in Tamil Nadu or a mobile repairman in Goa, must be made aware of his rights when it comes to telecommunications, Bombay High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay remarked on Saturday.

He suggested that the Bar Association should take the initiative so that the grievances of the general public can be raised before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). Justice Upadhyay was speaking at a seminar on ‘Mechanisms for resolution of disputes in telecom and broadcasting and cyber sectors’ in North Goa. Bombay High Court judges Justice Nitin Jamdar, Justice MS Karnik and Justice Navin Chawla were also present on the occasion.

“As far as adjudication of issues before the tribunal is concerned, there are laws and rules for that. Since the nature of disputes is still in its infancy, tribunals are also in their infancy and are constantly evolving,” he said.

Justice Upadhyay said since lawyers and TDSAT members are well versed with the rules, laws and legal nuances of the field, they should guide people according to the age-old principles of dispensation of justice – equality, fairness and good faith.

“Though this role has been forgotten in the court system now, I would still like to emphasise that tribunal members should follow these basic principles of dispensation of justice,” he said.

Justice Upadhyay said the disputes that come up for adjudication before TDSAT pertain to a wide range of matters and they may affect anyone sitting in a village in Tamil Nadu or running a mobile repair shop in Goa.

He said, “How to make a mobile repairer aware of his rights? I would request the Telecom Bar Association that apart from discussing the legal aspects before the TDSAT, perhaps you should go to the bar associations in different parts of the country and discuss this so that they can also make themselves aware of the remedies available to them (public) under this law.” Justice Upadhyay said that even an ordinary person running a mobile phone repair shop can fight for his rights on these forums, which he must be told about and some kind of awareness program should be run by the bar associations in this direction.