(7 March 2009 4:10 pm)

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has directed the Trai tariff order on cable TV services to prevail for the next two weeks.

In an interim order, a bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan has said that the tariff fixed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which was overturned by the Tdsat in an earlier ruling, would continue for the time being.

On 4 October 2007, Trai had issued a circular proposing a price band of Rs 132-260 for cable services based on a classification of cities and the number of pay channels provided by the multi-system operators (MSOs).

"Status quo as on the date of the Tdsat order to continue," the Supreme Court said, while adjourning the matter for two weeks.

The apex court was hearing the case relating to the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal's (Tdsat) rejection of Trai's proposal to put a ceiling on cable TV service charges across the country.

Earlier, the SC had asked the broadcasters and Trai to come out with an interim tariff arrangement for cable TV services.

In January, the Tdsat had rejected Trai’s tariff order on the ground that the regulator had violated principles of transparency.

Trai had moved the SC against the Tdsat judgement.

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