The Supreme Court on Thursday noted that telecom compes must come with a reasonable plan for the payment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues and asked them to submit their financial statements and balance sheets.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra and also comprising Justice S Abdul Nazeer and Justice MR Shah was hearing the matter related to the staggered payment of AGR dues.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the telecom compes had in the past and are again suggesting a mode of payment, and sought time for the Central government to look into the issue.
Mehta said that the telecom compes have filed affidavits in the matter and sought time for the Department of Telecommunication, Government of India to file a response.
Justice Mishra asked what security and guarantees can be sought from telecom compes to ensure they will abide by a payment plan.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Vodafone-Idea, said that the company had "no profits" and has only witnessed losses for the past several quarters.
Rohatgi said that he doesn't have those funds to pay, to which the bench said that the telecom compes must come with some kind of reasonable payment plan.
"Telecom is the only sector which is making money during this pandemic. They must deposit some amount. The government needs this money during the pandemic," the bench said and slated the matter for further hearing in the third week of July.
The top court had last week come down heavily on telecommunication compes for not having paid the pending adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues and slammed the Central government for "misusing the court's judgment" in the matter.
( With inputs from ANI )