Justice Mishra observed
under the IBC spectrum trading was different from spectrum sale.
The Supreme Court on
Thursday expressed concern over adjusted
gross revenue (AGR) dues melting away in bankruptcy proceedings.
“We are worried that almost the entire AGR dues will be extinguished in the
IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) proceedings. After sale (of spectrum),
new users will extinguish pending (demands for dues),” Justice Arun Mishra
said. He said in case the dues were not paid, the spectrum must be surrendered.
Justice Mishra observed
under the IBC spectrum trading was different from spectrum sale.
“Without paying for the
horse, telcos are taking a ride. We want to know from the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT) all details of spectrum allocated since 1999 to RCom
(Reliance Communications) and Aircel and the details of spectrum sharing,” he
said.
A Bench comprising judges
Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer, and M R Shah heard the matter. Senior Counsel
Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for the Videocon Telecom resolution professional,
told the court its AGR dues were valued at Rs 1,512 crore (by the DoT). As of
now, the business is nil and the resolution process is on.
The Union government has
filed an appeal with the National Company Law Tribunal that the resolution
plans of Reliance Communications and Aircel should not be approved until the
spectrum-related dues are cleared.
Counsel for bankrupt
firm Aircel said the company had filed an affidavit, which stated that since
2016, there had been eight spectrum-trading agreements between Aircel and
Airtel and all had the approval of the DoT.
Hearing on this is on since
last week and several rounds of arguments have taken place. However, the apex
court is yet to give its verdict on allowing the telecom companies to make
staggered payments of AGR dues.
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