The Hindu : Business : Fresh show cause notice slapped on Reliance Info

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 15, 2004

Business

Business

Fresh show cause notice slapped on Reliance Info

NEW DELHI, DEC. 14. The Central Government today slapped a fresh show cause notice on Reliance Infocomm on the Rs. 150 crore penalty it had proposed to levy on it for allegedly passing off international calls as local calls, causing "massive losses" to public sector telecom operators, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. and Mahanagar Telecom Ltd.

Reliance was asked to reply within a week to the notice, which is second since November 24, sources in the government and the telecom company, said.

The new notice followed Reliance Infocomm's assertion that the Department of Telecom's earlier notice of November 24 was "unjustified and untenable."

In its reply on December 2, Reliance Infocomm, headed by Mukesh Ambani, had countered the notice, saying there was no substantive details of any wrongdoing and that the company had not violated any of the terms of the licensing agreement as alleged by the government.

Sources said that today's notice was just like the previous one and only one new paragraph was added with some legal angles.

Virtually ignoring the reply from Reliance Infocomm, the Department of Telecom persisted with its charge that the company had violated the licensing conditions in diverting the international traffic.

The Union Communication Ministry had moved into action after BSNL had taken a tough position against Reliance, asking it to pay over Rs. 255 crores and had in fact disconnected points of interconnect in some places, including Gujarat. — PTI

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