Telephone complaints-consumer forums

Following the decision by a Mumbai consumer court, consumers can once again approach the consumer disputes forum for redressal of their grievances against telecom companies.

After a judgment delivered by the Supreme Court last year, telecom companies were taking the stand in consumer forums that cases against them could not be taken up in these courts, and should instead be sent for arbitration.

In the light of the SC judgment, the telecom companies had been claiming that consumer forums had no jurisdiction on such disputes.

However, in a decision on December 31, 2009, Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in Mumbai Central maintained that complaints regarding telephone services can be filed before the consumer forum and need not be referred to arbitration.

The complainant had stated that the SC judgment referred to a dispute between a ‘telegraph authority’ and a user.


The court agreed with the complainant’s argument that the telecom service providers, whether government or private, were not covered under the definition, since they were not ‘telegraph authority’ but merely licencees.

Jagroop Singh Mahal, president, Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum I, said following the SC order, cases against telecom companies were not entertained directly for four to five months.

“All these cases were being referred for arbitration first. But after the judgment by the consumer forum in Mumbai Central, we are taking up these cases. Last week, I issued a notice to a telecom company regarding a complaint,” he said.

Randhir Verma, president, Chandigarh Telecom Subscribers Association, said the judgment by the Mumbai court has led to clarity on the matter.

It is a welcome step that telecom users can approach the courts directly once again for their grievances. But it will still be best if the service provider itself redresses the grievances adequately, as per the guidelines of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. This will reduce the burden on the courts,” Verma said.

Achintya Mukherjee, Honorary Joint Secretary of Bombay Telephone Users’ Association, told Newsline over phone that the new judgment saves consumers from harassment caused by lengthy arbitration.

Cases filed against telecom companies relate to dropped calls, over-billing, unwanted value-added charges, false calls, and also cases against internet service providers, broadband service providers and DTH operators.