The shares of Vodafone Idea slumped over 6 per cent on Friday after the Supreme Court dismissed the applications filed by the company alongside other telco majors such as Airtel for a chance to place their grievances about “arithmetical errors” in their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues before the Department of Telecom (DoT).

At 12:09 pm, the company was trading at ₹8.62 on the BSE, down ₹0.63 or 6.81 per cent. It opened at ₹9.32 as against the previous close of ₹9.25. It hit an intraday high of ₹9.54 and a low of ₹7.87. On the NSE, it was trading at ₹8.65, down ₹0.60 or 6.49 per cent.

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the applications filed by the three telecom companies — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Tata Teleservices — who had appealed to the apex court to allow them to make staggered AGR payments. They had also sought correction to calculation errors made by the DoT in its AGR demand.

Also read: SC dismisses applications filed by telecoms regarding ‘arithmetical errors’

The decision has come as a big blow to the cash strapped Voda Idea which owes over ₹58,000 crore in AGR dues.

In a September 2020 judgment, the apex court had ordered that the annual 10 per cent instalments for payment of AGR dues that would commence from April 1, 2021 up to March 31, 2031.

In the last hearing, Airtel, Voda-Idea and Tata Teleservices were among the companies who assured the court that they have paid “more than” their expected instalment.

Bharti Airtel’s shares fared relatively better. It was trading at ₹552.80 on the BSE, up ₹6.30 or 1.15 per cent. On the NSE, it was trading at ₹553.05, up ₹6.35 or 1.16 per cent.

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