Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), the third-largest telecom operator of India witnessed a small rally in their share prices in the stock market. The teleco stock witnessed a 2% rise after it tanked as much as 12% per cent yesterday. The stock is currently trading at Rs.8.91 rupees. The company's shares fell after the Supreme Court (SC) gave a written order on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) ruling. For the unaware, recently, the SC had said that the government is now allowed to re-examine the AGR dues amount payable by the telco. This had made the markets very happy, and also pushed the telco's stock up.
However, the written order from the SC gives more clarity on the matter. It paints the real picture of what the SC had said and how it would affect the telco and the sector. Firstly, the re-examining of the AGR dues is only applicable to Vodafone Idea (Vi), no other telcos. Secondly, the AGR dues concerned here is only the additional AGR demand that the government had raised for up to FY2016-17. This development also impacted the larger sector and affected other companies. Indus Towers and Bharti Airtel fell 3.3 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively, while Bharti Hexacom declined 2.71 per cent to Rs. 1,866 per share. The court's written judgement on October 29 specified that the order is applicable solely to Vodafone Idea and is restricted to incremental AGR dues incurred up to the financial year 2016-17, referencing the "peculiar facts and circumstances" of the case.
Earlier, the apex court, on October 27, allowed the Centre to reconsider Vodafone Idea's AGR dues. Vodafone Idea had touched a one-year high of Rs. 10.57 on October 27, driven by expectations of government relief, and had risen 3.5 per cent in 2025 to date.The apex court noted that the Centre now holds 49 per cent equity in Vodafone Idea and that around 20 crore customers use its telecom services, making the issue one of significant public interest.