Supreme Court dismissed telecom giants, including Vodafone Idea, Airtel and Tata Teleservices’ plea that sought a waiver of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues on May 19. The top court’s bench, consisting of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, said the pleas filed by the telecom companies are “misconceived writ petitions”, the Bar and Bench reported.
“We are really shocked by these petitions which have come before us. It is not expected of a multinational company. We will dismiss it,” said the bench.
The telecom giants had sought a waiver on paying interest, penalty, and interest on penalty as part of their AGR dues.
The telecom giants had sought a waiver on paying interest, penalty, and interest on penalty as part of their AGR dues. VI had cited its troubled financial health as a reason behind seeking relief from SC and the government. Vi argued that with nearly 200 million subscribers, which is around 18% of the telecom sector market share, and a workforce of around 20,000 employees, the telecom giant is facing a survival threat due to the AGR dues slapped on it by the government, the bar and bench reported. The company said it will have to pay AGR installments of around Rs 18,000 crore annually for the coming six years. Rohatgi had earlier argued that to have competition in India’s telecom sector, Vodafone Idea’s survival is pertinent.
This isn’t the first dismissal faced by Vi. Earlier in February this year, the telecom company faced a series of rejections of review petitions by the top court. Telecos, including Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, had challenged SC’s 2021 decision, but the apex court upheld the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) calculations of AGR dues.
