SC AGR Hearing LIVE: Should R-Jio pay RCom’s pending dues? How will govt recover money from insolvent telcos?

SC AGR hearing LIVE: The Supreme Court continues hearing on spectrum sharing case today, while telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices await verdict on staggered payments of adjusted gross revenue case (AGR). In the previous hearing, the Supreme Court directed Reliance Jio, Reliance Communications and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to submit all details of the spectrum sharing deal and payments. Justice Arun Mishra-led bench told Reliance Jio counsel that spectrum is government property, not private property and anybody using it is liable to pay. The Supreme Court also questioned why Reliance Jio should not pay AGR dues of RCom, if it has been using RCom’s spectrum since January 2016. Reliance Jio has paid its AGR dues of Rs 198 crore. However, Jio claims that the amount paid also includes the RCom’s AGR dues for the eight circles for which it bought spectrum from it. The total AGR dues of Reliance Communications stands at Rs 25,194.58 crore. Besides, SC also directed the resolution professionals of RCom and Aircel to share details on which entities have placed bids under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).