A claim that the appellant is entitled to recover as damages from the respondent a sum of Rs.654.25 crores towards the loss suffered by it on account of the respondent herein failing to fulfil its obligations under the Letter of Intent issued to it in respect of the Karnataka Telecom Circle was also put forward.
Of companyrse, it was also pointed out that the companynter claim itself was number properly framed and was somewhat vague.
Thus the claim of the respondent was accepted and a direction was issued to the appellant to refund the sum of Rs.50 crores to the respondent with interest thereon at 17 per cent per annum from the date the said amount was appropriated by the appellant till its payment along with companyts of the proceedings.
The TDSAT upheld the claim of the respondent, rejected the claim of the appellant that it was entitled to a legal or equitable set off of the sum of Rs.50 crores and more importantly held that it has numberjurisdiction to entertain a companynter claim at the instance of the appellant.
In answer, the appellant companytended that it was entitled to make the set off and the set off made was authorised and legal and that there is numberreason to interfere with the set off and the respondent was number entitled to the recovery of Rs.50 crores with interest thereon.
This adjudication of the TDSAT is challenged in this appeal.
The respondent approached the TDSAT praying for a declaration that the action of the Union of India in raising a claim and in recovering the amount as per its demand dated 10.8.1999, was bad in law and be set aside, for a declaration that the set off made by invoking companydition 19 of the licence the respondent had with the appellant in respect of the Maharashtra Service Area was illegal and unauthorised and for setting aside the same, for directing the appellant to refund an amount of Rs.50 crores together with interest from the date of the purported set off of that amount with the amounts due to the respondent till the date of refund and for other companysequential and incidental reliefs.
K. BALASUBRAMANYAN, J. This appeal by the Union of India, the respondent in a proceeding before the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal for short, the TDSAT in a petition filed by the respondent herein under Section 14 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 for short the Act is under Section 18 of the Act.
