Vodafone Idea Share Price Jumps 9% as Supreme Court Allows Government to Reconsider AGR Dues

Vodafone Idea (VIL) shares surged by 9% on October 27, 2025, after the Indian government indicated its willingness to reconsider the telecom company's request regarding the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues case. The Supreme Court also allowed the Union government to make a decision, stating that the matter falls within the policy domain.

Vodafone Idea Case Hearing: Supreme Court Allows Govt to Reconsider AGR Dues Issue

The apex court bench, comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Vipul M Pancholi, remarked, "There is no reason why the Centre should be prevented from reconsidering the issue."

The Supreme Court clarified that the order was passed considering the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and in the interest of approximately 20 crore telecom users.

Vodafone Idea Share Price Today

At 11:53 am on October 27, Vodafone Idea shares were trading 9% higher on the NSE at Rs 10.47 per share. The telecom shares opened at Rs 9.62 on the trading day. During intraday trading, the stock reached a high of Rs 10.57 and touched a low of Rs 9.28. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has recorded a high of Rs 10.57 and a low of Rs 6.12.

The hearing on Vodafone Idea's petition had been adjourned multiple times previously at the request of the telecom firm and the Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, who represented the Centre. VIL has filed a fresh plea seeking relief against the Department of Telecommunications' (DoT) demand of Rs 5,606 crore for the financial year 2016-17. Earlier, the government had indicated that efforts were ongoing to arrive at a resolution with the company.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta highlighted that the government holds nearly 50% equity in Vodafone Idea, making it a direct stakeholder in the telecom operator's survival. He added, "Some solution may have to be found out, subject to your lordship's approval," emphasizing the need to ensure the company's sustainability.

VIL has requested a direction to the DoT to "comprehensively re-assess and reconcile all AGR dues for the period up to FY 2016-17" in accordance with the 'Deduction Verification Guidelines' issued on February 3, 2020.

The plea comes after a previous setback to telecom giants, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, when the Supreme Court in 2021 rejected their requests for rectification of alleged errors in AGR dues calculations.

The telecom companies had argued that there were arithmetical errors in the calculation of AGR dues and instances of duplication in entries. In September 2020, the Supreme Court had set a 10-year timeframe for telecom operators to pay their outstanding AGR dues, totaling Rs 93,520 crore. The court had ordered that 10% of the total dues be paid by March 31, 2021, and the remaining amount be paid in annual installments from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2031.

The top court, in its 2019 verdict, had finalized the DoT's demand regarding AGR dues, ruling that there should be no disputes raised by telecom companies nor any re-assessment. The DoT later sought staggered payment of these dues over 20 years to ease the financial burden on operators.

Initially, AGR included both telecom revenue and non-telecom income, such as interest from deposits or proceeds from asset sales. In 2021, the rules were relaxed to exclude non-telecom income from AGR, thereby reducing the financial obligations of telecom operators.