The Supreme Court on Monday rejected appeals from major telecommunications companies Vodafone, Airtel andTata Teleservices regarding their request for adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues waiver. The bench, consisting of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, deemed these appeals “misconceived”.“We are really shocked by these petitions which have come before us. It is not expected of a multinational company. We will dismiss it,” the bench stated to senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented Vodafone.The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the government’s position regarding assistance to the telecommunications companies, according to a PTI report.Vodafone had requested relief of approximately Rs 30,000 crore, covering interest, penalty and interest on penalty components of their AGR dues.Rohatgi earlier emphasised that the petitioner organisation’s continued existence was essential for sustaining competition within the telecommunications industry.Following a recent conversion of interest obligations into equity, the government now maintains a 49 per cent ownership in the organisation.“The present writ petition does not seek review of the judgment but only seeks waiver of rigors of payment of interest, penalty and interest of penalty under the Judgment,” stated the company’s petition.The petitioner requested specific instructions for the government to “act fairly and in public interest” and refrain from demanding “payment of interest, penalty and interest on penalty on AGR dues”.
