AGR case: Supreme Court puts spectrum users in the dock on IBC firms’ dues

In an observation with wide ramifications, the Supreme Court on Friday put the onus of paying dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR) on those telcos which are using the spectrum earlier held by now bankrupt firms. According to the court proceedings, if bankrupt firms fail to pay their AGR dues, the telecom operators that got spectrum from them must make the payment.

So, if Videocon, which is in the midst of an insolvency process, cannot pay the dues, Bharti Airtel, which is using the spectrum of the Venugopal Dhoot-founded company under a commercial airwave trading pact, may have to take the hit. The same reasoning would apply in the case of another bankrupt telco Aircel, which had entered into a spectrum trading agreement with Bharti Airtel.