Delhi High Court stays MCD's tower sealing drive till 19 May

In what would come as a relief to telecom operators, the Delhi High Court on Thursday stayed the sealing of illegal mobile towers and asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Cellular Operators Association to settle the issue amicably.

While issuing a notice to the MCD, justice Kailash Gambhir stayed the sealing up to 19 May.

The court observed that since the issue involved public interest, and the two parties should resolve their differences speedily.

The association sought to seek a stay on the sealing drive, and approached the court through its member C S Dua.

In its petition, the operators contended that under the powers flowing from the Indian Telegraph Act, the central government alone could exercise powers and not any civic authority.

On Wednesday the MCD sealed 24 illegal mobile towers in the capital. The MCD's jurisdiction extends over 5,364 phone towers of which as as many as 2,952 have been declared illegal for installed without MCD's authorisation.

The MCD sealed around 300 towers over the past few months, however 41 were re-operationalised following completion of the required formalities by the phone companies.

The MCD said mobile operators who had installed the towers illegally had been given one month's time for regularisation for which the deadline expired last week.

(See: Sealing drive against unauthorised mobile towers to continue: MCD)