The Telecommunications Bill of 2023 is like the proverbial curate’s egg—it is good, in parts. The telecom industry has good reasons to cheer this bill as an improvement over the creaky and outdated mechanisms of the Indian Telegraph Act passed in 1885. However, the Bill, recently passed by Parliament, suffers from lacunae that are likely to impact its viability and leave it open to legal and constitutional challenges. Good legislation requires a thorough identification of relevant principles, careful drafting for clarity, and vigorous discussions to iron out kinks. It is worth pondering if the Bill meets these requirements. In terms of principles and drafting, there are at least four significant issues.
Click here to read the full article authored by our Partner, Rahul Narayan and Managing Associate, Shreya Gupta published in Livemint.