The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) successfully urged the Supreme Court of India on Friday, September 26, 2025, to postpone the hearing of a significant plea filed by Vodafone Idea. This plea disputes an additional Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) demand exceeding ₹5,000 crore.
September 26 marks the last working day for the court before its Dussehra break, which will span the entire following week.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai granted Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s oral request, made on behalf of the DoT, to defer the hearing until October 6, the day the court re-opens.
This new legal challenge arises just months after the apex court rejected similar petitions from major telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea (VI), and Tata Teleservices. Those earlier pleas sought relief on interest payments, penalties, and interest on penalties related to their respective AGR liabilities, with companies citing severe financial constraints. In its May order, the Supreme Court had deemed these petitions “misconceived.”
The Chief Justice had previously underscored the importance of achieving finality in the ongoing AGR litigation. Furthermore, exactly one year prior, on September 19, 2024, the Supreme Court had dismissed a curative petition filed by telcos, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. This petition challenged the court’s pivotal October 2019 judgment, which affirmed the DoT’s right to recover approximately ₹92,000 crore in AGR from these operators.
Vodafone Idea’s current appeal specifically seeks the court’s intervention regarding an additional AGR demand imposed by the DoT for the 2016-2017 financial year. The company asserts that its liabilities for this period have already been definitively calculated and should not be subject to further changes or increases. It has urged the court to annul this supplementary DoT demand and to order a comprehensive re-assessment and reconciliation of all AGR dues up to the financial year 2016-17.