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Mumbai:
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on a bunch of petitions filed by tv broadcasters difficult the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s new tariff order.
A bench of Justices Amjad Sayed and Anuja Prabhudessai is now more likely to pronounce its verdict on August 24.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Wednesday, gave the bench an oral assurance that TRAI would defer implementation of its new tariff order until August 25 and won’t take any coercive steps in opposition to the broadcasters until then.
The petitioners approached the excessive courtroom earlier this month, difficult a July 24 notification issued by TRAI asking them to implement its new tariff order.
The new tariff order was issued in January this yr.
It imposes decrease charges, and a value cap on the subscription charges for pay channels, amongst different issues.
The broadcasters challenged the brand new tariffs, saying the amended laws have been “arbitrary and violative of their fundamental rights”.
The bench led by Justice Sayed heard the petitioners at size between February and March this yr and reserved orders. The courtroom at the moment had not handed any interim orders.
On July 24, TRAI issued a notification, warning broadcasters of coercive motion if they didn’t implement the brand new tariff order.
The broadcasters then approached the excessive courtroom difficult such notification, saying, amongst different issues, that because the matter was already subjudice, the regulatory physique couldn’t compel them to implement the tariff plan.
TRAI maintained that the excessive courtroom had not handed any orders restraining it from implementing these laws. It, thus, requested all broadcasters to adjust to the brand new tariff order by August 10.
Therefore, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, a consultant physique of TV channels, and several other broadcasters moved the excessive courtroom once more this month, difficult the July 24 instructions and searching for a keep on its operation until the courtroom determined the matter lastly.
On January 1, 2020, TRAI issued new tariff guidelines by which costs of the Network Capacity Fee (NCF) have been lowered, benefiting customers.
Previously, a sum of Rs 130 was relevant for all free-to-air channels and customers wanted to pay extra as a way to watch further channels.
After the amendments to broadcast sector tariffs, customers can pay Rs 130 as NCF cost, however will probably be entitled to get 200 channels.
The new plan additionally imposed a value cap on the subscription charge of particular person pay channels.
As per the brand new plan, customers will probably be allowed to decide on the TV channels they need to watch, as a substitute of getting to go for pre set channel bouquets.
The new tariffs have been to initially come into impact from March 1, 2020.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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