Supreme Court dismisses telcos’ plea for AGR waiver, says govt can help

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the petitions moved by Vodafone Idea (Vi), Bharti Airtel, and Tata Teleservices seeking a waiver on their long-standing adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. The telcos were looking for relief related to payment of interest, penalty, and interest on penalty components as part of their AGR dues.

Calling the plea “misconceived’’, a Bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said if the Centre decided to extend relief to these companies, the court would not obstruct such a move. “If the government wants to help you, we are not coming in the way,” Pardiwala said.