The Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has been established by the Central Government under Section 14 of the TRAI Act, 1997 (as amended) by way of notification in the year 2000 to adjudicate disputes in Telecom Sector involving licensor, licensee and group of consumers.

        In the year 2004, the jurisdiction of TDAT was extended to include broadcasting matters.      By way of Finance Act, 2017, the jurisdiction of TDSAT was further extended to Airport Tariff and Cyber matters.  The TDSAT has also been assigned appellate jurisdiction over Aadhaar matters under S-33C of the “Aadhaar (Targeted delivery of financial and other subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016

        The TDSAT exercises Original as well as Appellate jurisdiction over Telecom and Broadcasting matters.  Major issues before TDSAT in Telecom Sector include licensing disputes, allocation of spectrum, CAF, AGR, interconnection, quality of service etc.  The disputes in Broadcasting Sector include provision of signals, bouquet of channels and its pricing, recovery of subscription charges, STBs, disconnection/ refusal of signals etc.

        The Tribunal exercises Appellate jurisdiction over Cyber matters under S-48 of the IT Act, 2000.  The Original jurisdiction under the Act lies with the Adjudicating Officers appointed by the Central Government.  The said Adjudicating Officer exercises jurisdiction to adjudicate matters where the claim for injury or damages is upto Rs.5.0 Crores.  The TDSAT exercises Appellate jurisdiction over orders of the Adjudicating Officer.

Since its inception, TDSAT has been organising seminars in different parts of the country to deliberate upon relevant and emerging issues concerning the said sectors and also to generate awareness about dispute resolution mechanism and remedies under the TRAI Act.  The forthcoming Seminar of TDSAT at Chennai on 11^th February, 2023 would be on “Telecom, Broadcasting and Cyber Sectors – Disputes and Resolution”.  Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.M. Sundresh, Judge, Supreme Court of India will be the Chief Guest while Hon’ble Mr. Justice T. Raja, Acting Chief Justice, High Court of Madras and Shri T. Mano Thangaraj, Hon’ble Minister for Information Technology, Government of Tamil Nadu will be the Guests of Honour.   Shri P. Wilson, Sr. Advocate & Hon’ble Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Shri S. Sankaranarayanan, Additional Solicitor General of India (south) will be the Special Guests. These dignitaries shall address the august gathering comprising of Hon’ble Judges, Lawyers, service providers of Telecom and Broadcasting services, officers of the Government, Media persons, Law students etc. Before address by the said dignitaries, Hon’ble Mr. Justice D.N. Patel, Chairperson, TDSAT shall deliver the welcome address.

        During the Business Session, presentations/talks will be delivered by Shri Sundaresan ARL, Additional Solicitor General of India (Madras High Court), Shri S. Prabakaran, Sr. Advocate & Vice-Chairman, Bar Council of India, Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary (IT) & Adjudicating Officer, Government of Tamil Nadu, Shri Kunal Tandon, Shri Harsh Kaushik, Advocates on topics relating to Dispute Resolution in Broadcasting sector, Cyber sector, Cyber Frauds, Emerging Regulatory Landscape & issues arising in respect of Satellite based Internet Services, Civil Jurisdiction under IT Act, etc.

        The Seminar seeks deliberation of various relevant and emerging issues among subject experts.  Besides Hon’ble Judges, Lawyers and Government officers, representatives of various stake holders in telecom, broadcasting and IT sectors, would be participating in the Seminar.  A copy of the detailed programme is enclosed. 

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(रिलीज़ आईडी: 1897318)