Bharti Airtel surges 5%, hits new high after SC rejects telcos’ plea

Shares of Bharti Airtel jumped 5 per cent to a fresh lifetime high of Rs 565 on the BSE on Friday as investors bet on a potential duopoly in the Indian telephony market after the Supreme Court today rejected the telcos’ review plea on adjusted gross revenues (AGR) payments.

In a major setback for the telecom companies, the Supreme Court rejected the plea seeking new schedule of AGR payments. Coming down heavily on the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for not taking coercive action against telcos for failing to repay, the apex court ordered contempt proceedings against Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.