In Short:
Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya urged that everyone, from rural villagers to mobile repairers, should know their telecom rights. Speaking at a seminar in Goa, he asked Bar associations to help raise awareness about complaints to the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). Justice Upadhyaya emphasized the importance of fairness and guidance in the evolving legal landscape of telecom disputes.
Raising Awareness on Telecom Rights
Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, emphasized the importance of educating the general public, including villagers in Tamil Nadu and mobile repairers in Goa, about their rights within the telecom sector. His comments came during a seminar focused on the ‘Mechanism for Resolution of Disputes in Telecom and Broadcasting and Cyber Sectors’ held in North Goa on Saturday.
Role of Bar Associations
Addressing the gathering, which included justices Nitin Jamdar, M S Karnik, and Navin Chawla, Justice Upadhyaya urged Bar associations to take proactive steps in facilitating public awareness and bringing complaints to the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). He noted the evolving nature of disputes and the tribunals themselves, stating, “So far as adjudication of issues coming before the tribunal is concerned, there are laws and rules. Since the very nature of dispute is at its nascent stage, the adjudicatory bodies like tribunals are also in their nascent stage and are ever-developing.”
Guidance on Legal Rights
Justice Upadhyaya also pointed out that since lawyers and TDSAT members possess considerable expertise in the relevant laws and legal practices, they should assist the public in understanding their rights based on fundamental principles of justice: equity, fairness, and good conscience. “This role now, though it is forgotten in the court system, I would emphasize that the members of the tribunal stick to these basic principles of dispensation of justice,” he remarked.
Empowering Individuals
He highlighted the necessity of raising awareness about the rights of various individuals impacted by telecom disputes. “How to make the mobile repairer aware about his rights? I would request the Telecom Bar Association that apart from discussing the legal aspects coming up before TDSAT, perhaps you should go to the Bar associations in different parts of the country and have discussions so that they can also make themselves aware of remedies available to them under this law,” he stated.
In conveying his message, Justice Upadhyaya iterated that even simple individuals, such as a mobile phone repair shop owner, should be empowered to assert their rights in these forums, underscoring the critical need for awareness programs spearheaded by Bar associations.
