After more than a year-long hiatus, the promoters of Bharti Airtel have brought shares from the open market. Promoter entity, Bharti Telecom, picked up 3.28 lakh shares and 5.5 lakh shares on March 18 and March 19 respectively, at an average price of ₹306 a share. Incidentally, the purchase coincided with a fall in the stock price following news of a Delhi court issuing summons to founder-chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal in a case relating to allocation of additional spectrum during the NDA regime in 2002. The stock fell below ₹280 but has since recovered and now trades at ₹294. Following the purchase, Bharti Telecom’s stake has marginally increased to 45.72% from 45.7%. As on date, the promoters (Mittals and SingTel) hold close to 69% stake in the company. Given the rising risk of regulatory and judicial intervention, analysts are increasingly getting wary of telecom stocks, Bharti included. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise if one sees frequent market purchases from those who perceive value in the sector.