New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has rejected the petitions filed by telecom companies Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, who were seeking relief from paying interest, penalties, and interest on penalties linked to their Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues. The court called their plea “shocking” and “misconceived.”

A bench headed by Justice JB Pardiwala delivered the judgment on Monday. The companies had asked the court to exempt them from paying the heavy additional charges over their AGR dues, which they say are unaffordable and threatening their financial stability.

Vodafone Idea, in particular, is struggling with a massive financial crisis. Just a day before the court’s ruling, the company appealed to the government for a waiver of Rs 45,457 crore, stating it would not be able to survive beyond the financial year 2026 without relief.

So far, Vodafone Idea has paid around Rs 8,000 crore and has not disputed the principal AGR amount of Rs 12,797 crore. However, it argues that the extra charges — which include compounded interest and penalties — are too much for the company to bear.

The total dues owed by Vodafone Idea to the government amount to a staggering Rs 1.95 lakh crore, most of which is spectrum-related debt. Of this, Rs 1.18 lakh crore is at risk if the company files for insolvency, which it has hinted it may do by approaching the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) if no help comes.

The annual AGR payment by Vodafone Idea is around twice its current cash earnings of Rs 9,200 crore, making the payment almost impossible to manage.

The government had earlier also rejected any fresh relief requests. The Department of Telecommunications, in an April 29 letter, referred to the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling, saying further concessions could not be allowed.

Bharti Airtel had also sought similar relief on a fair and equal basis but received the same verdict from the court.