SC dismisses plea to direct authorities to immediately recover AGR dues from telcos

New Delhi [India], Aug 17 : The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the authorities to make immediate arrangements for the recovery of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues from telecom companies.
"The court is already looking into the matter. Please do not complicate the issue and do not misuse Article 32 like this," the bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said while dismissing the PIL filed by one Anshul Gupta.
The plea also sought to cancel the service licenses of telecome companies if they do not adhere to the orders passed by the court and do not immediately clear their outstanding dues in full.
"Instruct the respondents to make arrangements for immediate recovery of pending/outstanding AGR dues (in full till today), in accordance with the orders of the respected court, as per calculation submitted by respondent in court of law, within one week of hearing of this petition," the plea said.
"It is also prayed to instruct respective law enforcement agencies to take necessary steps to recover the dues from the telecom service providers' as per rule," it added.
This comes even as the top court has reserved its order on the timeline for the payment of the AGR dues by telecom companies. The telecom companies had sought 15 to 20 years of time to pay back the remaining AGR dues in a staggered manner.