Vodafone Idea Crashes Over 12% as Supreme Court Rejects ₹30,000 Crore AGR Dues Waiver Plea
New Delhi, 19 May 2025: Vodafone Idea shares crashes more than 12% intraday on Monday, after the Supreme Court dismissed the telecom company’s plea seeking a waiver of ₹30,000 crore in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.
The stock ended the day nearly 9% lower, closing at ₹6.73 (BSE), compared to the previous close of ₹7.37. During the day, it hit an intraday low of ₹6.47, rattling investors and dragging sentiment further down.
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The sharp fall followed a major legal setback for Vodafone Idea, which had approached the Supreme Court after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) turned down its request for relief on interest and penalties related to a long-standing $9.76 billion dues dispute.
DoT rejected CEO Akshaya Moondra’s appeal on April 29, stating the request “cannot be considered.” Moondra had earlier warned that the company’s survival could be at risk of bankruptcy without government intervention.
Despite Gvot converting a portion of the telecom firm’s dues into equity and acquiring a 49% stake, Vodafone Idea is stillunder intense financial stress. The latest rejection comes at a time when the company is still trying to recover from the outstanding dues of the 2019 Supreme Court ruling that broadened the definition of AGR.
Vodafone Idea, jointly owned by UK-based Vodafone Group and India’s Aditya Birla Group, had petitioned the apex court to direct the government to take a stance in the public interest. The matter is expected to be taken up for further hearing later this week.
The financial crisis can be found from its latest earnings report. Vodafone Idea posted a net loss of ₹7,674.6 crore for the January–March quarter of FY24, compared to ₹6,418.9 crore in the same period last year. Quarter-on-quarter, the loss also deepened from ₹6,986 crore, driven largely by mounting expenses and stagnant revenue growth. Finance costs alone surged to ₹6,280.3 crore, marking a 25.5% jump from a year ago.
For the full financial year FY24, the company’s total net loss widened to ₹31,238 crore, a 6.6% increase over FY23’s ₹29,301 crore. With its increasing losses, regulatory challenges, and operational failures, Vodafone Idea remains in a doubtful position in India’s telecom sector.
