The Karnataka High Court has directed the state-run operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to advertise the new regulations introduced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on unsolicited commercial calls. In January 2015, TRAI affirmed that the registered telemarketers cannot send unsolicited commercial messages to consumers, and unregistered telemarketers are banned from sending any messages to consumers.

The court’s decision has come after a petition was filed by Mohammed Dastagir, a party-in-person. He moved to the court against inaction on part of BSNL to stop the unsolicited commercial messages on his BSNL mobile phone number. According to the petitioner, BSNL failed to attend to his 400 complaints that he filed about receiving over 600 unsolicited commercial messages on his phone number. The petitioner asserted that the messages were invading his privacy and causing mental agony to him..

The court has also asked the telecom operator to submit an action taken report on the matter.