The Delhi High Court has directed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to ensure that telcos undertake complete and strict implementation of Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR) 2018 regulations to curb the use of fake SMSes/calls.
These regulations were issued in 2018 for curbing unsolicited commercial communications (UCC). Under the TCCCPR, all business entities that send promotional and transactional SMSes must register their headers and content on a blockchain-based platform operated by telecom operators. This is aimed at preventing spam, including fraudulent messages delivered without user consent and registration.
In addition, the Delhi HC has also directed telcos to adhere to the guidelines set by TRAI and take appropriate action against the registered and unregistered telemarketers making or enabling fraudulent calls and SMSes.
The Delhi High Court’s latest directions comes in response to a petition filed by Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) and One97 Communications (OCL) in 2020.
However, the High Court did not direct the respondents, including telecom companies, to pay damages worth Rs 1 billion originally sought by Paytm for reputational loss on account of payment frauds due to a lack of adherence to the TCCCPR rules.
