MADHYAMAM BROADCASTING LIMITED Vs. ASIANET SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) O.P.(C)No.3281 of 2017:- The petitioner who has approached the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi (for brevity 'TDSAT') in a Broadcasting Petition, i.e., B.P.No.433 of 2017 filed under Sections 14 and 14A of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (for brevity 'TRAI Act') seeking an order to quash Ext.P27 disconnection notice dated 20.10.2017 issued by the first respondent herein and to direct the said respondent to renew/enter into a carriage agreement with the petitioner at non-discriminatory, uniform and reasonable rate, in terms of Regulation 3(10) and 3(12) of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Service) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Televisions Systems) Regulations, 2012. The petitioner has sought for other consequential reliefs, which includes a declaration that the Reference Interconnect Offer for channel carriage (for brevity, 'RIO') published by the first respondent is a sham document, intended as a tool to coerce the broadcasters to enter into and agree to high and exorbitant carriage fee; and a permanent injunction restraining the said respondent not to disconnect the signals of the petitioner's TV channel.

(2.) In B.P.No.433 of 2017, the petitioner sought for an interim injunction restraining the first respondent from disconnecting the signals of its TV channel and an order directing the said respondent to negotiate and enter into a uniform and non-discriminatory carriage agreement with the petitioner. On 1.11.2017, the TDSAT considered the interim reliefs sought for in B.P.No.433 of 2017 with notice to the respondents, who entered appearance on advance notice, and passed Ext.P29 order. The relevant paragraphs of Ext.P29 order read thus;

(3.) Now, the petitioner is before this Court in this original petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India seeking an order to set aside Ext.P29 order of the TDSAT to the extent it directs the petitioner to enter into a fresh agreement in terms of the existing agreement, and to deposit an amount of Rs.1.35 Crores and to make payments for the months of November, December, 2017 and January, 2018 as per the expired agreement.