Supreme Court Rejects Telcos' Plea for AGR Dues Waiver

Strategic Insights -

The Supreme Court of India dismissed the pleas of three major telecom companies, Vodafone, Airtel, and Tata Teleservices, seeking a waiver of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. The pleas were termed "misconceived" by the bench, comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, who expressed shock at the telcos' last-ditch efforts. The telcos had previously been rejected three times since 2019, including a "curative petition" which is the final resort for any litigant before the apex court.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Supreme Court rejected the pleas of Vodafone, Airtel, and Tata Teleservices, seeking a waiver of AGR dues.
  • The telcos had previously been rejected three times since 2019, including a "curative petition".
  • The Apex Court termed the pleas "misconceived" and expressed shock at the telcos' last-ditch efforts.
  • Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi represented Vodafone, Shyam Divan represented Airtel, and Arvind Datar appeared for Tata Teleservices.
  • Vodafone sought a waiver of around Rs 30,000 crore towards interest, penalty, and interest on penalty components of its AGR dues.
  • The Apex Court's decision comes after the dismissal of the curative petition filed by the telecom companies seeking the recall of the apex court's 2019 judgment.

Statistics:

  • The Apex Court rejected the pleas of the three telecom companies.
  • The telcos had been rejected three times since 2019, including a "curative petition".
  • Vodafone sought a waiver of around Rs 30,000 crore.
  • The Apex Court dismissed the curative petition filed by the telecom companies.

Sources:

  • The belief of this news report could not be verified as neither the author, narrator, nor any sources were given in the provided text.
  • This report came from ABP News - an Indian news channel.