'Harassed' by pesky calls, Calcutta HC judge seeks swift action
Times of India | 20 March 2024
KOLKATA: Calcutta HC Judge Rajasekhar Mantha on Tuesday highlighted the daily "harassment" he encountered from tele-callers, echoing the irritation felt by people across the country who are at the receiving end of relentless commercial calls, despite telecom regulatory body's order against spam calls.
Justice Mantha said he received seven to eight calls every morning from two banks, describing the situation "intolerable." When those numbers were blocked, the tele-callers called from other numbers. Justice Mantha urged immediate action to redress the issue.
The problem of unsolicited commercial calls seems all-pervasive. A resident of Tollygunge area here, Sourav De, who runs an IT firm, said he was inundated by such calls, some for credit cards and some with offers of dubious investment schemes.
In the current digitally connected world, the invasion of personal space by unsolicited commercial calls had become a common occurrence, said Tarun Mandal, an entrepreneur living in Howrah. Apart from being a time-consuming intrusion, these calls also posed risks to individuals' financial security, he added.
Despite efforts by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to curb such practices, the problem persists. Trai provides avenues for consumers to register with the National Do Not Call Registry (DND) to block unwanted calls so that people are spared the incessant tele-marketing calls.