The Uncertainty of Jurisdiction over Telecommunication Matters: TRAI v. CCI

The Bombay High Court (‘HC’) had previously held that the Competition Commission of India (‘CCI’) has no jurisdiction over matters falling within the dominion of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (‘TRAI’). This matter came up before this Court in pursuance of the matter concerning the allegations of an anti-competitive agreement between Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. The Bombay HC bench had ruled that reliance cannot be placed on the Competition Act to interpret policies and contracts of the telecom sector. In this regard, the CCI has moved the SC seeking its decision to resolve this uncertainty. It has argued that while TRAI has the exclusive jurisdiction to hear matters pertaining to adequacy of PoIs, quality of services, etc., that does not take away the competency of CCI to decide on matters involving anti-competitive agreements between the telecom operators. The matter is scheduled to be heard on Thursday in the SC.

Read more at: http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/cci-seeks-supreme-court-opinion-on-its-jurisdiction-in-telcos-dispute/1030788/