E-Paper
No stay on cell tower fee
The Supreme Court on Tuesday did not grant an interim stay on the enhanced licence fee imposed by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on mobile phone towers installed in the Capital.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday did not grant an interim stay on the enhanced licence fee imposed by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on mobile phone towers installed in the Capital.
A vacation bench headed by Justice R.M. Lodha refused to intervene with the Delhi High Court order directing the cellular operators to deposit the fee with the civic body. On an appeal filed by the operators' association, the bench, however, restrained the MCD from encashing the fixed deposit receipt that was deposited towards the enhanced fee by the petitioners following to high court's direction.
The single bench order also permitted the cellular companies to operate their towers by depositing Rs one lakh instead of Rs 5 lakh in the form of a fixed deposit receipt with the high court registry.
The bench declined to entertain the plea stating that the validity of hike in the licence fee was already under high court’s scrutiny.
