TRAI ready for legal battle if telcos challenge its decision on pesky calls

NEW
DELHI: Telecom guard dog TRAI on Wednesday said it is ready for a legal conflict if
the telecom operators move the tribunal challenging its determination to impose
penalties on service suppliers for unsought phone calls to the subscribers. "There is no inquiry of
rolling back the decision. If the operators move tribunal challenging the move, we
are ready to struggle them," a TRAI functionary said here on the outs of-bounds of
Convergence India, an ICT exhibition. The telecom regulator had on
Monday said for the first unsought communication, a service supplier would
have to pay a punishment of up to Rs 5,000, which could travel up to Rs 20,000 for each
subsequent call. The telecom
operators associations yesterday strongly opposed the decision, which they said
was "unfair" and would potentially deter the service providers.

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GSM
lobby grouping COAI and CDMA operators grouping AUSPI said in a joint statement that
TRAI makes not have got the powerfulnesses to penalise operators. "The service suppliers merely
provide the bagpipe for the passenger car of the phone phone calls and cannot be held responsible
for such as pesky, nuisance calls made by the selling agencies," the statement
had said. TRAI is well aware
that there is no technological installation available which can assist the service
provider to recognize whether the phone call is from a telemarketer or is an unsolicited
commercial communication, it added. Moreover, there is no mode in
which the service supplier can guarantee that the telemarketer have scrubbed the
calling listing in an appropriate manner before making the call. The full industry is
completely discouraged by this ordinance since we have got been going out of our
way and making all possible attempts to set in a system so as to enable the
Authority's (TRAI's) UCC ordinance to be effective," it had said yesterday. TRAI, on its part, had said,
"The aim is to increase the effectivity of conformity of these
regulations by providing fiscal deterrence to non-compliant Telecom Service
Providers and thereby reducing the nuisance and incommodiousness to the subscribers
from the unsought tele-marketing calls/ messages."

Foreign law firms may get trial run

NEW DELHI: Foreign law houses may soon
get a toehold in India, enabling them to gradually tap the flourishing marketplace here
for legal business. The authorities programs to open up up legal services in phases,
slowly overcoming opposition from North American Indian lawyers. In the first phase,
foreign law houses will be allowed to counsel clients on laws in other countries. This could affect consultancy to Indian houses taking up concern or sourcing
funds from other countries. This window will also let foreign law houses to
advise multinationals working in Republic Of Republic Of India on legal deductions in various
countries on business relationship of developments taking topographic point in India. In the
next stage, overseas law houses will be allowed to hammer partnerships with Indian
firms. Such joint ventures may supply consultancy services to Indian clients on
issues pertaining to Indian law, but aliens will not be allowed to appear
before courts. Market entree for practising Indian law in a
full-fledged manner will be considered only after these two stages. As of now,
it is only a distant possibility and any advancement would depend on feedback from
the first two stages. The law ministry programs to put up a regulator to monitor
foreign firms. Any foreign law house establish practising Indian law before the
market is opened up volition be blacklisted. The law ministry has
received recommendations from all the prima law houses and is now consulting
the commercialism ministry which covers with marketplace entree in services. The government
is of the position that handiness of foreign law houses here would assist in
minimising Indian concern enterprises’ costs. “Indian
law houses are competent adequate to confront foreign competition. The state have to
incur immense costs in paying foreign law houses to help of legal services. The
government had to blast out over Rs 100 crore in the Enron lawsuit for
arbitration,” A senior authorities functionary said. The Barroom Council of India
(BCI) have so far been against the move to let foreign lawyers to practise in
India. “We volition throw a meeting on November 17 with all state
representatives of BCI and hope to attain a general agreement on the issue,” said
BCI member, Jagdev. One of the options is to let foreign law firms
to work here through the limited liability partnership (LLP) structure. The
LLP measure is under the consideration of the Parliamentary standing commission on
finance. Law house Fox Mandal said if foreign lawyers are allowed to practise
only the law of their country, it would not present a thereat to Indian lawyers. “We have got suggested that it is only just and in the involvement of
reciprocity that foreign houses be allowed to practise in India. North American Indian law firms
are allowed to open up business offices and practise in many jurisdictions. The entry of
foreign houses will travel a long manner in enhancing the competency of legal
professionals in India. Moreover, if adequate precautions like a regulator are put
in place, there’s no worry,” said Fox Mandal partner, Som
Mandal.