Bharti Airtel can continue offering 3G services till 8 May: Delhi HC

Delhi high court stays Rs.350 crore penalty imposed by the government on the telecom firm 

 

Delhi high court has ordered Bharti Airtel to keep all its revenue from the contentious services in a separate bank account. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint 

                New Delhi: The Delhi high court has stayed the Rs.350 crore penalty imposed on Bharti Airtel Ltd by the government for offering 3G services in areas where it did not have such air waves till the next hearing scheduled on 8 May.

The court has allowed Bharti to continue offering the services but has ordered it to keep all its revenue from the contentious services in a separate bank account.

On Friday, Bharti Airtel approached the court, seeking a stay on a notice from the department of telecommunications (DoT) asking the company to stop the services in the seven telecom service areas and imposing a fine of Rs.50 crore per circle. Bharti Airtel will also have to sign an affidavit saying that the government can cash its bank guarantee if the government’s stance on the issue is found correct.

The affected circles include Haryana, Kolkata, Uttar Pradesh East, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

In July 2011, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd had said that they will offer 3G services in areas where they did not win spectrum in an auction through intra-circle roaming pacts that they had signed with each other. The department, after consultation with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, ruled that the agreements were illegal. Vodafone and Idea are likely to get similar notices soon.

At 1.30pm, Bharti Airtel shares fell 0.76% to Rs.308.70 on BSE. The exchange’s benchmark Sensex shed 0.86% to 19,260.14 points. 

 

TOUHID HUSSAIN

PGDM 2nd SEM