SC To Hear Vodafone Idea’s Plea For Quashing Additional AGR Demand On Oct 6

Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court is set to hear on October 6 a plea filed by Vodafone Idea Limited challenging additional adjusted gross revenue demands raised by the Department of Telecommunications for the period up to 2016–17.

The matter, listed before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, comes after the court on September 26 deferred the hearing on the request of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who sought time for discussions with the company.

In its petition, VIL has contested a fresh demand of ₹5,606 crore raised by the DoT and sought a direction for comprehensive reassessment of all AGR dues till FY 2016–17 in line with the Deduction Verification Guidelines of February 3, 2020.

Mehta earlier told the bench that the Centre, which holds nearly 50% equity in VIL, is a direct stakeholder in the telecom operator’s survival. “Some solution may have to be found out, subject to your lordships’ approval,” he had said.

The case is the latest chapter in the long-running AGR dispute, where telecom operators were directed by the Supreme Court in 2020 to clear dues of about ₹93,520 crore over 10 years. The court had also ruled that AGR dues, as calculated by the DoT, were final and not open to reassessment.

Earlier this year, the apex court dismissed pleas by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea seeking rectification of alleged errors and duplication in AGR calculations, refusing to revisit its 2021 order.