'Misconceived': SC junks pleas by Vodafone, Airtel, Tata Teleservices for AGR dues waiver
New Delhi, May 19 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the pleas of telecom majors Vodafone, Airtel and Tata Teleservices seeking the waiver of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.
A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan called the pleas "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 told senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Vodafone.
The top court refused to "come in the way of the government" wanting to help the telecom companies.
Rohatgi at the start of Monday's hearing sought an adjournment till July.
When the court asked for the reason, he said they were trying to see if something could be done without bothering the court and informed the bench that the government now held 50 per cent ownership in Vodafone.
"If the Government wants to help you, let them. We are not coming in the way. But this is dismissed," the bench went on to hold.
Rohatgi said the Centre expressed its inability to extend help owing to the Supreme Court judgment of July 2021.
The telecom companies had alleged arithmetical errors in the calculation of the AGR dues and sought it to be rectified contending duplication of entries but the top court on July 23, 2021 dismissed their pleas.
When Rohatgi sought permission to withdraw the petition on Monday, the bench said, "We will not permit you to withdraw as well."
Vodafone sought a waiver of around Rs 30,000 crore towards interest, penalty, and interest on penalty components of its AGR dues.
"The present writ petition does not seek review of the judgment but only seeks the waiver of rigors of payment of interest, penalty and interest of penalty under the Judgment," its plea said.
The plea also sought a direction to restrain the Centre from insisting on payment of interest for the period of payment of dues in instalments.
The company said it is one of the three major private telecom service providers in India with around 18 per cent of the total market share of mobility subscribers in the country.
"Significantly, the Union of India/Licensor, has since acquired substantial equity in the petitioner 1 company through conversion of dues owed by the company and currently holds 48.99% equity in the paid-up equity share capital of the petitioner 1 company, with conversions of dues done on the following dates," it said.
The plea added, "Even post this conversion of dues, Government of India has dues in respect of spectrum of approx Rs 119,000 crore in addition to AGR dues, to be recovered from the petitioner company."
The company has an active workforce of over 20,000 employees who are dependent on it for their livelihood, the plea said.
"The petitioner has made a total investment of approx Rs 135,000 crore in the last decade towards the country's telecom industry. The petitioner has contributed to the public exchequer by way of license fees and SUC (spectrum usage charges) of approx Rs 61,000 crore in a decade along with significant additional contribution of GST, which was approx Rs 11,800 crore in FY 2024-25," it said.
It is impossible for the promoters or any shareholder to invest any more monies in the company, the plea said.
"Since the petitioner is unable to raise debt in view of precarious financials, if it is compelled to pay amount of Rs 18,000 crore per year towards AGR dues for next six years, the petitioner will not be able to survive and will face extreme financial stress," it said.
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.
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 the telecom operators should make the payment of 10 per cent of the total dues as demanded by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) by March 31, 2021 and the rest 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.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
