Indian Telegraph Act, 1885

Star India Private Limited challenged the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017 and the accompanying Tariff Order, alleging that TRAI had overstepped its jurisdiction by regulating the content, pricing and packaging of TV channels, which they argued …

The petitioners, including acid‑attack survivors with facial disfigurements and a blind individual, challenged the mandatory digital KYC/e‑KYC/video‑KYC procedures for being inaccessible and discriminatory. They argued that requirements such as capturing a live photograph and performing a liveness check (e.g., eye‑blin…

The Cellular Operators Association of India and several private mobile service providers were directed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to discontinue differential tariffs that charged higher rates for calls terminating on the BSNL/MTNL network compared to calls terminating on other private networks.…

BSNL alleged that Reliance Communications had routed international calls as local calls, thereby evading higher Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC) and Access Deficit Charges (ADC). BSNL invoked clause 6.4.6 of their inter‑connect agreement to levy a large sum as a "penalty". The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate …

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (East‑I) challenged two notices issued by the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) under Section 299 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, seeking possession of land that formed part of the regular street line. The appellant argued that the notices were invalid because no prior san…

The case concerned whether cellular mobile service providers (the assessees) were required to deduct tax at source under section 194-H of the Income Tax Act, 1961 on the margin earned by franchisees/distributors from selling prepaid kits at a price higher than the discounted price paid to the assessees. The Revenue arg…

Century Rayon Ltd (appellant) sought to erect 100 kV electricity transmission towers on land owned by IVP Ltd (first respondent) under a sanction from MSEDC. IVP Ltd filed a suit for permanent injunction alleging the contractors were excavating its land without permission. The trial court and High Court imposed a tempo…

The petitioners, led by Avishek Goenka, raised a public‑interest writ alleging that prepaid SIM cards were being sold without proper identity verification, posing security risks and violating Department of Telecommunications (DoT) notifications. The petitioner sought strict enforcement of verification norms, physical r…

The State of Gujarat appealed the acquittal of Anwar Osman Sumbhaniya and others by a Designated Court under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA). The appeal centered on whether the prior sanctions issued under Section 20‑A(2) of TADA for the 1993 and 2005 prosecutions were valid. The S…

The Supreme Court examined whether the definition of "gross revenue" in clause 19.1 of the telecom licence agreement, which determines the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) for licence fee calculation, could be challenged by the licensees. It held that the contractual definition is binding, that TRAI and the Telecom Dispute…

The Managing Director of Gujarat Co‑operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. received two unusually large telephone bills for international "party" calls and alleged that the calls were made from other numbers. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) held the bills correct; an administrative appeal was rejected and …

The case arose from a reference to a nine-judge bench to determine whether the right to privacy is a constitutionally protected fundamental right under the Indian Constitution, particularly in light of the Aadhaar scheme's collection of biometric data. The petitioners argued that privacy is an intrinsic part of the rig…

The Supreme Court examined multiple appeals filed by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) against Vodafone Essar Gujarat Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., and Tata Teleservices Ltd. concerning demands for interconnect usage charges on calls that allegedly lacked authentic Caller Line Identification (CLI). BSNL relied on a Departme…

BSNL issued a circular on 12 June 2012 revising infrastructure charges for active links of licensed telecom operators, stating it would apply retrospectively from 1 April 2009 with a 10% annual increase. The operators had already paid charges upfront under the earlier 2006 circular and challenged the retrospective levy…

Capt. Gurdeep Kaur Sandhu, a pilot with Air India Express Ltd, tendered her resignation by email on 3 July 2017, invoking the six‑month notice period required under the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR). The company accepted the resignation on 2 September 2017, engaged and trained a replacement pilot at considerable co…

The case concerned compensation disputes arising from the erection of transmission towers and power lines under a 400 kV project that traversed four districts in Haryana. Landowners claimed that the compensation awarded by the District Judges and upheld by the High Court was inadequate, while the contractor sought to l…

The Supreme Court examined whether the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) could audit the accounts of private telecom service providers under the Unified Access Services (UAS) licences to verify revenue sharing with the Union. Service providers argued that the CAG’s powers under Article 149 of the Constitut…

The case concerned Bharti Hexacom Ltd. and other telecom operators who paid a variable annual licence fee to the Department of Telecommunications under the New Telecom Policy of 1999. The issue was whether these payments were capital in nature, requiring amortisation under Section 35ABB of the Income Tax Act, 1961, or …

Tata Sky Ltd. operated a Direct‑to‑Home (DTH) broadcasting service under a licence granted by the Central Government. The Madhya Pradesh Government, invoking the Madhya Pradesh Entertainment Duty and Advertisements Tax Act, 1936, issued a notification on 5 May 2008 fixing a 20% entertainment duty on payments for admiss…

Vodafone Idea Cellular Ltd. filed a consumer complaint alleging over‑charging for mobile services, which the consumer, Ajay Kumar Agarwal, pursued before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. The appellant argued that Section 7B of the Telegraph Act, 1885, which mandates arbitration for disputes concerning te…

The Supreme Court examined a dispute where Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd sought to erect transmission towers on land leased to Century Textiles & Industries Ltd for limestone mining. Century argued that Power Grid lacked prior consent under the Works of Licencees Rules, 2006 and that the towers would render the m…

The Supreme Court considered appeals and writ petitions filed by Bharti Airtel Ltd and other telecom operators seeking renewal or extension of their licences granted under Section 4 of the Telegraph Act, 1885. The operators argued that the licences created a contractual right to extension and that the Government’s deci…

The Supreme Court examined challenges to the 2015 Notice Inviting Application (NIA) for spectrum auction, where petitioners alleged that the minimum bidding requirements, classification of bidders and spectrum‑capping provisions violated Article 14 and created a non‑competitive environment. The Court held that the gove…

The Union of India challenged the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal’s (TDSAT) orders that defined Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) to include only revenue from licensed telecom activities, excluding revenue from non‑licensed activities. The issue was whether the Tribunal and the Telecom Regulatory Authorit…

The Cellular Operators Association of India and other telecom service providers challenged the Telecom Consumers Protection (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2015, which required service providers to credit Rs 1 to the calling consumer for each call drop (up to three per day). The Delhi High Court upheld the regulations, …

Amar Singh filed a writ petition under Article 32 alleging that his telephone conversations were intercepted by the Government of India and the Delhi administration at the behest of a political party, and sought an injunction and damages. The petition relied on annexes that were later shown to be forged and were obtain…

The Court examined the Jammu and Kashmir government's orders that shut down mobile, landline, and internet services and imposed Section 144 restrictions on 4‑8‑2019, which the petitioners claimed violated their fundamental rights to free speech, press, and trade. The petitioners sought production of all orders, a decla…

The widow of Madan Tamang, a political leader murdered in public, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking quashing of charge‑sheets and a fresh investigation by an independent Special Investigation Team, alleging that the State police, CID and CBI investigations were faulty. The Supreme Court examined the adequa…

The Supreme Court examined whether the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) could entertain challenges to regulations made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) under Section 36 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997. It held that the power conferred on TRAI by Sectio…

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) filed an information under the Competition Act, 2002 alleging that the three incumbent dominant operators (Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) colluded to deny or delay augmentation of Point of Interconnection (POI) cap…

Loop Telecom applied for Unified Access Service Licences (UASL) for 2G spectrum and paid a non‑refundable entry fee of Rs 1454.94 crore. The Supreme Court, in Centre for Public Interest Litigation v. Union of India (CPIL), quashed the 2G licences on the ground that the First‑Come‑First‑Serve policy was arbitrary and un…

The Supreme Court examined the allocation of 2G spectrum licences by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) between September 2007 and March 2008, which were based on Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommendations to use the 2001 entry fee and a first‑come‑first‑served policy. Petitioners argued that …

The Gujarat Mazdoor Sabha and a national trade union challenged two Gujarat State notifications issued under Section 5 of the Factories Act, 1948 that exempted all factories from provisions on working hours, rest intervals and overtime pay during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The petitioners argued that the pandemic did not c…

The Supreme Court considered the Union of India's demand that telecom service providers (TSPs) pay Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues as determined in earlier judgments, while several TSPs were under insolvency proceedings. The Court examined whether spectrum, a natural resource licensed under the Indian Telegraph Act, …