'There Has To Be Finality To Proceedings' : Supreme Court On Vodafone's New Petition Over AGR Dues

The Supreme Court on Friday (September 19) asked if it can entertain a fresh petition filed by Vodafone India over the issue of Adjusted Gross Revenue dues, ignoring the Court's earlier order, which dismissed a previous petition filed by the company on the same issue.

The bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice NV Anjaria was hearing a writ petition filed by Vodafone India challenging the Department of Telecommunications' additional demand towards AGR dues of 2016-17 period. According to Vodafone, the additional demand is unsustainable as the liabilities were already crystallised by the Supreme Court's 2019 judgment.

In May, a bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan had dismissed the writ petitions filed by Vodafone and two other companies seeking waiver of interest, penalty, and interest on penalty components on their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. Then, the bench led by Justice Pardiwala had made scathing remarks against the company for filing the petition despite the conclusion of the AGR litigation with the dismissal of curative petitions.

In this backdrop, CJI Gavai asked if the new petition should be entertained. "The last order passed by the other bench, we don't want to....we have seen that order," CJI Gavai said.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for Vodafone, and Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta jointly replied that the facts and circumstances have now changed since the dismissal of the earlier matter. However, CJI Gavai expressed doubts by saying, "With the order passed in those four petitions...there has to be some finality to the proceedings."

Therafter, circumstances have changed," SG replied. Rohatgi added, "What has prompted me to come today has nothing to do with the old case."

"There has to be some finality to the proceedings," CJI repeated. SG and Rohatgi stated that they will be able to convince the Court and requested for adjournment till next week.

At the outset of the hearing itself, SG had sought adjournment, saying that the Government and the company were trying to find a resolution. He pointed out that the Government of India has bought 50% shares of Vodafone.

"The Government of India has also infused 50% equity. So we are also stakeholders. Some solution may have to be found out, subject to your lordship's approval. If it can be kept next week, we can think of some solution," SG said.

Rohatgi briefly explained the background of the issue to the Court: "The mobile company has to pay a license fee to the government. It is calculated based on gross revenue ... An issue arose that if Vodafone owns a hotel, can you add the revenue of the Hotel to the revenue of Telecom? The answer is obviously no. On this issue, the DoT said, we will add."

The matter will be heard next Friday.

According to the latest petition, the DoT has raised a demand of ₹5,606 crore, which falls under the 2016-17 period. Penalty and interest are also added to the demand. The company contended that the Supreme Court had crystallised the liabilities in 2020, and hence the matter cannot be reopened with additional demand.

The prayer in the petition is -  “Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction quashing the demands issued by the respondent (Department of Telecom) raising additional AGR demands for the period till FY 2016-17 and direct the respondent to comprehensively re-assess and reconcile all AGR dues for the period till FY 2016-17.”

 The October 2019, the judgment of the Supreme Court, which upheld the Department of Telecommunications' definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), significantly broadened the scope to include non-core revenues.

This ruling dealt a major financial blow to telecom operators, who were ordered to pay over ₹1.4 lakh crore in dues, including penalties and interest.

Companies like Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, already under financial strain, faced existential threats due to the massive liabilities.

Review and modification petitions filed by the telecom firms were dismissed by the Court in early 2020, reaffirming the dues. In September 2020, the Court granted a 10-year timeline for payment of the dues, with an annual instalment plan.

Case Details : VODAFONE IDEA LTD. AND ANR. Versus UNION OF INDIA| W.P.(C) No. 882/2025  

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