Centre told to propose steps to set up ombudsman

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has directed the Union government to inform the court as to what steps it proposes to take to set up an ombudsman for the purposes of adjudication of disputes arising between consumers and telecommunication service providers.

The court has also asked the Centre to respond to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommendation of creating an ombudsman for the purpose of adjudication of such disputes.

The court was hearing PIL seeking an ombudsman in the telecom industry that will be an independent body to redress and pass orders and penalise service providers for complaints and grievances against telecom service providers.

The division bench of Justice S.S. Kemkar and Justice M.S. Karnik granted time of four weeks to the Union of India, department of telecommunication and TRAI to take instructions as to what mechanism they propose to take for redressal of grievances of the (telecom) consumers.

“The Union of India shall also respond to the recommendations already made by TRAI for creating an ombudsman for the purposes of adjudication of such disputes,” said the bench.

The petitioner’s lawyer, Hitesh Ramchandani, had argued before the court that currently there is no such authority to redress the grievances of the telecom customers and hence in cases of closure of service, the customer could not approach any body.