India’s Supreme Court has postponed hearing a crucial petition from Vodafone Idea (VI) challenging an additional demand of over ₹5,000 crore in Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) requested the deferment, which was granted on Friday, September 26, 2025.
The postponement comes as September 26 marks the last working day for the court before its Dussehra holiday. The Chief Justice of India, B.R. Gavai, heading the bench, agreed to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s oral request to reschedule the hearing for October 6, the day the court resumes its proceedings.
This latest legal battle arises just months after the apex court dismissed similar pleas from major telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Tata Teleservices. Those earlier petitions sought relief from interest, penalties, and interest on penalties related to their AGR liabilities, citing severe financial distress. The court had previously deemed these pleas “misconceived” in its May order.
Notably, Chief Justice Gavai had emphasized the importance of bringing finality to the prolonged AGR litigation. A year prior, on September 19, 2024, the Supreme Court had rejected a curative petition by telcos like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, which aimed to overturn the court’s October 2019 judgment. That judgment had upheld DoT’s move to recover approximately ₹92,000 crore in AGR from these companies.
Vodafone Idea’s current petition specifically seeks the court’s intervention against the additional AGR demand for the financial year 2016-2017. The company argues that its liabilities have already been definitively calculated and should not be subject to further changes or increases. VI is urging the court to quash this new DoT demand and calls for a comprehensive re-assessment and reconciliation of all AGR dues up to the end of FY 2016-17.