Dear All,
The following article has appeared in The Times of India, Pune, Tuesday, October 12, 2004 on Business Times page (page no. 11). The article is written by Padmaja Shastri/TNN. I could not locate this article on the indiatimes site and hence I am unable to provide a link.
It's 4 years, but TDSAT's waiting for customer plaints For all the hue and cry telecom consumers make at the customer service centres and in the 'letters to the editor" columns, they seem to be a passive lot when it comes to fighting for their rights and getting their disputes redressed. The Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appelate Tribunal (TDSAT) has not received a single complaint from any consumer body, since its inception in May 2000. "Consumers in India need to be more active. TDSAT has not received a single case from any consumer, even though we are here to help them" said Justice D. P. Wadhwa, TDSAT chairperson.

Citing the case of active government-supported consumer bodies in other countries, like the consumer and government affairs bureau under the Federal Communications Commission, US, Profeco in Mexicoand Barocco in Brazil, he wondered why consumers in India are inactive.
The tribunal was set up in 2000 through an amendment of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Act, 1997, to adjudicate disputes and dispose of appeals to protect the interest of service providers and consumers.
Adjudicating disputes between a service provider and a group of consumers, redressing disputes between two or more service providers and between a licenser and licensee are among its main functions.
In fact, it has powers to hear and dispose of appeals against any decision or order of Trai, even if it means overruling Trai. "Though we are supposed to help only a group of consumers, we will take up the case of even one consumer, provided his complaint has larger implications," said justice Wadhwa. Speaking on the sidelines of a national telecom seminar organised by the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management (SITM), he said, of the 120 cases pending with TDSAT, about 40 are between service providers, about 20 against Trai order, 25 against licenser(government), 20 from cable operators and about 10 from FM radio sector, but none from
consumers.
For consumers who think courts give adjournments and not justice, Wadhwa informs that not only does TDSAT dispose of most cases in 90-180 days on an average, but also compensates litigation expenses of those who cannot afford it, through a corpus fund it had setup one and a half years ago. The tribunal also provides and pays for the services of a telecom lawyer, from among the 50 lawyers attached to it, for those who cannot pay.
It has Rs. 5 lakh in the fund at present. There is a highlighted box about "HOW TO BE HEARD"
1. Send petition in prescribed proforma to TDSAT by post or email.
2. The petition should be supported by a duly sworn affidavit.
3. It should ideally come from a group of consumers.
4. Individual complaints will be entertained if the issue affects many.
5. Consumers can expect a reply within 15 days for a hearing.
6. The prescribed fee for an appeal is Rs. 10,000/-
7. The website of TDSAT is www.tdsat.nic.in
Let us all absorb the implications of the above information and then decide upon a course of action.

Regards,

Kaustubh Deshpande