RELIANCE COMMUNICATIONS LTD Vs. BEENA MENON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE key question which falls for consideration is, whether, the consumer fora have the jurisdiction to try and decide the disputes relating to excess telephone billing and whether, there lies a rub in exercising its jurisdiction in view of Section 7 -B of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.

(2.) ALL the cases entail similar facts and the same questions of law. We will decide the above detailed cases through this common judgment. The learned counsel for the OPs, namely, Reliance Communications Ltd., Maharashtra Telephone Nigam Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd., has placed reliance on the celebrated authority reported in General Manager, Telecom Vs. M. Krishna and Anr., Civil Appeal No. 7687 of 2004, decided on 01.09.2009, wherein it was held, as under : -

(3.) WE are of the considered view that this authority is not applicable to the present cases. In Fair Air Engineers (P) Ltd. Vs. N. K. Modi, 1996 6 SCC 385, it was held, as under : -