Centre promises: No more unsolicited mobile calls

ASG Gopal Subramanium8217;s reply came on a PIL filed by Harsh Pathak, a lawyer. The ASG informed a bench of Justice Ruma Pal and Justice Dalveer Bhandari that discussions had already been held with telecom service providers to fix the problem. The bench recorded his statement and gave the Centre two weeks time as requested.

Pathak had filed the petition in February 2005 urging the court to direct the Centre to frame guidelines to put an end to harassment of cellphone users by telemarketeers wanting to sell anything from credit cards to loans.

Pathak pointed out that 8220;such calls made amidst professional and personal engagements not only interfered in the private lives of the people, but also caused unnecessary financial loss to the phone users if made on roaming facilities at STD and ISD locations8221;.

Alleging complicity of cellphone companies in letting out personal data of its customers, the PIL requested that information given by a subscriber to a cellular service provider should be treated as confidential and there should be a law prohibiting the service providers from transferring it.

As a remedy, the petitioner suggested bringing into life a Do Not Call Register as was prevalent in some Western countries like USA. The register would list numbers of perople who do not wish to attend unsolicited calls.

The PIL was widely welcomed by people from virtually every field who spoke of their versions of harassment they had to undergo. A doctor would narrate how he took a call in the midst of a surgery only to know that it was someone wanting to know if he wanted to avail of a house loan.

Though the apex court issued notices on February 7 last gauging the seriousness of the matter, the nuisance has continued unabated.