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- By Parinda News Bureau, January 20, 2007, 17:00 IST
A consumer court in India has imposed a heavy fine on some firms and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) for pestering people with unsolicited telemarketing calls and text messages, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in New Delhi imposed a fine of 7.5 million rupees (169,132 dollars) on cellular service provider, Airtel, COAI, the ICICI bank and the American Express Bank, the Hindustan Times daily reported.
"To stop this menace, we feel inclined to impose heavy damages on the service providers for their 'not care a fig' attitude and continuing to indulge in these activities despite our earlier ban and the Supreme Court's clear-cut directions," Justice JD Kapoor, was quoted as saying by the paper.
In the ruling, the judge said every subscriber who "suffered from such calls" would be entitled to a minimum compensation of 25,000 rupees.
The court gave its order after considering a petition filed by an Airtel subscriber, a lawyer by profession.
Despite a ban on promotional and marketing calls, telemarketers continue to harass scores of mobile phone users in India, one of the world's fastest growing telecom markets.
While several courts have issued directions to stop the nuisance, this is the first time that companies have been penalized.
India's Supreme Court has also urged the government to crackdown on unsolicited calls, saying these constituted an invasion of privacy.
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