Vodafone Idea shares sink nearly 9% after Supreme Court rejects AGR relief plea

NEW DELHI: Shares of Vodafone Idea (Vi) plunged sharply on Monday after the Supreme Court dismissed petitions by major telecom companies seeking relief from adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. Vi’s stock ended the day 8.68 per cent lower at Rs 6.73 on the BSE, after falling as much as 12.21 per cent intraday to Rs 6.47.

The market reaction wiped out approximately Rs 6,933.95 crore from Vodafone Idea’s market capitalisation, bringing it down to Rs 72,914.86 crore, as reported by PTI.

The Supreme Court’s firm rejection of the appeals also impacted related stocks. Indus Towers saw its shares decline by 2.87 per cent, while Tata Teleservices slipped by 0.46 per cent.

The telecom firms - Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, and Tata Teleservices - had sought waivers on the interest, penalty, and interest on penalty components of their AGR dues, citing calculation errors and duplicate entries. Vodafone Idea alone had requested relief of around Rs 30,000 crore.

However, a bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan dismissed the pleas, terming them “misconceived.” “We are really shocked by these petitions which have come before us. Really disturbed. It is not expected of a multinational company. We will dismiss it,” the bench remarked, addressing senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented Vodafone.

Read more: Setback for telecom majors: SC rejects pleas by Vodafone, Airtel, Tata Teleservices for AGR dues waiver, calls appeals 'misconceived'

The apex court had already rejected similar appeals in July 2021, upholding the government’s position on the recovery of dues. On Monday, it again declined to interfere with the Department of Telecommunications’ stance, signaling a firm end to the prolonged litigation on the matter.

This comes just days after Vi wrote to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that it will not be able to continue operations beyond FY26 without government support on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. In a letter dated April 17, 2025, Vi CEO Akshaya Moondra had written to the Telecom Secretary, saying, "Without GoI's (Government of India) timely support on AGR, VIL will not be able to operate beyond FY26 as the bank funding discussions will not move forward," adding that "no support will lead to a point of no return."

Read more: 'Will not be able to operate beyond FY26,' says Vodafone Idea's in a warning while asking for government support on AGR dues

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