New Delhi, October 27 (IANS). Relief news came from the Supreme Court on Monday for Vodafone-Idea (Vi), one of the country’s largest telecom companies. The apex court has allowed the Central government to reconsider the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues of Rs 9,450 crore on VE.
The apex court has clearly said that this decision has been taken keeping in mind the interests of 20 crore consumers of the telecom company.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai passed the order after hearing the arguments of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Mehta told the court that the government has made up to 49 per cent equity investment in the telecom company and this decision has been taken keeping in mind the concerns of more than 20 crore consumers.
Let us tell you, in a historic decision of 2019, the Supreme Court upheld the Central Government’s definition of AGR and allowed the Center to recover dues of Rs 92,000 crore, which was a big blow to major telecom companies like Vodafone and Bharti Airtel.
In Vodafone’s new petition, the issue of new AGR demand of Rs 9,450 crore raised by the Department of Telecommunications has been raised. The petition argues that a large part of the demand pertains to the period before 2017, which has already been settled by the Supreme Court.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta told the court that there was a “dramatic change in the circumstances” of the case due to the government making an equity investment in Vodafone.
“The government’s interest is public interest and there are 20 crore consumers. If this company suffers loss, it will create problems for consumers,” he said.
The Supreme Court said in its order that the Center is ready to investigate the issue.
The top court said, “If the court permits, the government is ready to reconsider and take an appropriate decision. In view of these specific facts, we do not see any hindrance in the government reconsidering this issue. We make it clear that this is a matter of policy, there is no reason why the Center should be prevented from doing so.”
–IANS
abs/
