Penalty on Reliance valid: Maran

The government said on Tuesday it was very clear in its stand imposing a penalty of Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) on Reliance Infocomm for violating the licensing conditions by diverting international calls as local calls.

"DoT is very clear... that they have violated the clause, that they have violated the licensing conditions and that is the reason we have slapped the penalty," Minister for IT and Communications Dayanidhi Maran said.

On Reliance's move to approach Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal, he said, "It is a matter of natural justice. We are arguing about the case. Since it is before TDSAT, I would not be able to make any comment."

Reliance had moved TDSAT after the government rejected its plea to reconsider the penalty.

In its correspondence with the DoT, Reliance has been maintaining that, "Despite repeated requests DoT has so far not provided particulars of the alleged violations of the licence conditions with any specificity."

"In the circumstances, we submit that the purported order levying penalty is clearly unsustainable, illegal and without any basis whatsoever," he added.