A bench headed by Justice B N Agarwal adjourned the matter for two weeks on a stay application by the state-run telecom operator. It had earlier sought a reply from BPL.
BSNL, while seeking a stay on the impugned direction of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, stated that it was not under any obligation to pay interest on delayed payment, which BPL had started demanding with effect from November 11, 2005.
Under the interconnection agreement, BPL had agreed to pay interest to BSNL in case it defaulted payment toward interconnection usage charges for termination of calls in its network within the stipulated time, the state-run operator said, adding there was, however, no corresponding obligation on it to pay the same.
"It is respectfully submitted that the respondent (BPL) had signed the agreement where no such provisions or recital or clause with respect to payment of interest on delayed payment by the appellant (BSNL) had been provided," it added.
The state-run operator said TDSAT while directing the parties to have reciprocity in payment of interest on delayed payment had failed to go into the conflict between the interconnect agreements and the IUC regulations.
Such directions were contrary to the terms and conditions of the interconnection agreement and were grossly detrimental to public interest as the appellant was a public company, the application filed through counsel Maninder Singh stated.
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