Vodafone Idea moves SC seeking Rs 30k crore AGR dues waiver
New Delhi, May 15 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a fresh plea of Vodafone Idea seeking waiver of around Rs 30,000 crore adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih was urged by senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the telecom firm, that the plea needed an urgent hearing.
The telecom company has sought a waiver of around Rs 30,000 crore towards interest, penalty, and interest on penalty components of its AGR dues.
Rohatgi said the survival of the petitioner firm was crucial for maintaining competition in the telecom sector.
Now the Centre holds a 49 per cent stake in the company following a recent equity conversion of interest dues, he added.
The bench is likely to hear the plea on November 19.
The top court had previously refused to review its 2021 order rejecting the pleas of telecom majors including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea for rectification of alleged errors in calculation of AGR dues payable by them.
A bench comprising former Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Abhay S Oka and Sanjay Kumar dismissed the pleas seeking review of the 2021 order in-chambers on January 28.
On July 23, 2021, the apex court dismissed their applications seeking rectification of the alleged errors in calculation of AGR dues.
The telecom companies argued that arithmetical errors in the calculation be rectified and there were cases of duplication of entries.
The top court in September 2020 fixed a time frame of 10 years for telecom service providers struggling to pay Rs 93,520 crore of AGR related dues to clear their outstanding amount to the government.
In its September 2020 order, the apex court said that telecom operators should make the payment of 10 percent of the total dues as demanded by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) by March 31, 2021 and the rest amount would be paid in yearly instalments commencing from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2031.
The top court, which held the demand raised by the DoT with respect to AGR dues as final, said there should neither be a dispute raised by the telecom companies nor any re-assessment.
The apex court in October 2019 delivered its verdict on the AGR issue.
The DoT moved a plea in the top court asking for a staggered payment of the dues by telcos over 20 years.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
