The Supreme Court has allowed the central government to reconsider the issue of reassessment of AGR dues that Vodafone Idea Ltd. has to pay. Shares surged.
The matter of Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues falls within the purview of the Union of India’s policy domain, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai said on Monday.
“We clarify that this is in the policy domain of the Union… There is no reason as to why the Union should be prevented from doing…,” Gavai said. “With that view of the matter, we dispose of the writ petition.
The Supreme Court’s order came after Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta said that the government has picked up a 49% equity stake in the company in lieu of some of the dues. “There are 20 crore consumers. That was one of the decisions why the central government took this decision,” Mehta told the top court. “The consumers would suffer…they have concerns…”
The Supreme Court said the order was being passed only because the Centre had infused equity in the company by acting in the interest of consumers.