Aretha Legal is pleased to announce another favorable order secured before the Hon’ble Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), New Delhi for Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

The matter was argued by Ms. Aanchal Tandon, Senior Partner, on behalf of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL). The petitioner, a Multi-System Operator (MSO), had challenged a demand raised by ZEEL on the basis of an audit conducted by a TRAI empaneled auditor, alleging bias and inflated subscriber figures. The dispute revolved around interconnection agreements, area expansion requests, and alleged unauthorized signal transmission wherein Aanchal highlighted the Petitioner’s failure to produce credible or verified evidence, exposing glaring defects in their affidavit and pleadings.

After extensive hearings and detailed arguments, the audit conducted by a TRAI empaneled auditor was upheld as valid and binding, confirming ZEEL’s right to recover its demand. The Petitioner failed to provide sufficient verified evidence to rebut the demand, with its evidence affidavit itself being defective and lacking proper verification.

Accordingly, the Tribunal on 26.08.2025 dismissed the petition with costs, vacating the interim protections earlier granted, and upheld ZEEL’s demand.

This judgment underscores the importance of proper compliance with interconnection agreements, the value of TRAI empaneled auditors’ report and emphasizes Petitioner’s responsibility to establish its case based on the preponderance of probabilities, and for discharging this onus by way of evidence.