Any relief package to telcos will go against Supreme Court verdict, says Jio

NEW DELHI : Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd has cautioned that offering any relief to rival operators after a Supreme Court judgement put a ₹92,000 crore burden on the telecom industry would go against the judgement and set a wrong precedent for other sectors. In a 1 November letter to Union telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries Ltd also alleged that Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd have enough funds to pay dues.

“Any reduction in the financial liability of the licensees arising from the judgement of the Court would in effect be rewarding them for their conduct in initiating frivolous and vexatious proceedings to delay payment of their just dues,” Jio said in its letter, a copy of which was seen by Mint.

“Any proposal for waiver will be considered as loss to the public exchequer and contrary to the Supreme Court judgement,” Jio said.