Hathway wins STB dispute as TDSAT directs cable operator to return 194 boxes or pay Rs 2.64 lakh

NEW DELHI: In a case of missing boxes, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has ordered West Bengal-based local cable operator Jagat Gouri Cable Net to return 194 set-top boxes (STBs) belonging to Hathway Digital Private Limited or pay Rs 2.64 lakh towards their depreciated value.

In its August 20 judgment in Broadcasting Petition No. 297 of 2019, the tribunal directed Jagat Gouri Cable Net to return all 194 STBs, along with their accessories, to Hathway Digital within two months.

If the equipment is not returned in good and working condition, the cable operator must instead deposit Rs 2,63,840 with the tribunal. The amount has been calculated at a depreciated value of Rs 1,360 per STB.

The tribunal also ordered simple interest of 9 per cent a year on the amount from the date of filing of the petition until payment.

The dispute began after Hathway alleged that Jagat Gouri Cable Net had replaced 194 of its STBs and viewing cards with equipment supplied by competing multi-system operator Saptak Digital. Hathway claimed the equipment was swapped without following the procedure prescribed under the applicable interconnect regulations and without returning its STBs.

Hathway had initially sought Rs 2,92,800, calculated at Rs 1,600 per STB, along with an injunction preventing Saptak Digital from providing signals to the cable operator until Hathway’s equipment was returned or its value was paid.

According to Hathway’s petition, it had supplied 377 STBs and viewing cards to Jagat Gouri Cable Net under a Model Interconnect Agreement covering the period from August 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020.

Hathway alleged that 194 of those STBs were subsequently replaced with equipment belonging to Saptak Digital.

Jagat Gouri Cable Net contested the claim, arguing that it had only acted as an agent or facilitator for Hathway under a prepaid model. It said it had never entered into a conventional local cable operator-multi-system operator relationship with Hathway and disputed its liability for the equipment.

Hathway, however, maintained that the Model Interconnect Agreement had been executed electronically through its portal. It argued that the agreement specifically required existing STBs to be returned when subscribers migrated to another MSO.

The company also submitted that the agreement established its ownership of the equipment and that the LCO had acknowledged those terms.

After considering the dispute, TDSAT decreed the petition against Jagat Gouri Cable Net, the first respondent. The tribunal did not grant any relief against Saptak Digital.

The order gives Jagat Gouri Cable Net two months to comply by returning the 194 STBs and their accessories in working condition. If it fails to do so, the depreciated value, along with applicable interest, will become payable.

The tribunal further directed that any failure to comply with the order could result in recovery through execution proceedings, bringing the long-running equipment dispute to a close.