Thread by @barandbench

AGR DUES:

Supreme Court to shortly begin hearing the case concerning payment of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues by Telecom companies.

#SupremeCourt
#AGR
@VodafoneIN @airtelindia @reliancejio

In the previous hearing, the Supreme Court had posed the question as to why Reliance Jio, which is using RCom's spectrum under spectrum sharing agreement, should not be paying RCom's AGR dues.

@reliancejio
#SupremeCourt

This issue was raised when the Court was hearing ailing telecos on the question of whether Spectrum can be sold under IBC proceedings.

DOT had maintained, Spectrum is national property, cannot be sold by companies.

#SupremeCourt
#AGRDues

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Senior Counsel Harish Salve appearing for Jio tells the Court that an affidavit has been filed on behalf of Jio.

@Reliancejio

SG Tushar Mehta addresses the Court.

"There are two different concepts, sharing of spectrum and trading of spectrum code.

The second question is under IBC, spectrum can be sold or not"

Mehta: I will assist the Court first on the second question

#agrcase #AGRdues

Mehta: divergence of view may not subsist now as regards whether spectrum can be sold or not in view of a judgment #agrcase #AGRdues

Mehta: This three-Judge Bench judgment may show that DOT's view that the spectrum can't be sold is the right view.

Mehta now refers to S.18 of IBC

#agrcase #AGRdues

Mehta points out that there were diverging views on sale of spectrum between DOT and MCA, but DOT's stand against spectrum sale may be the final view in light of SC's judgment, Mehta suggests #agrcase #AGRdues

Mehta: Under Doctrine of public trust, all the national assets belong to the nation.

This point was also raised by DOT before the NCLT and NCLAT. #agrcase #AGRdues @DoT_India

Mehta: People of the country own these assets which are held by the government in trust

#agrcase #AGRdues @DoT_India

Mehta says that the permission given to telecom companies to use spectrum under contracts and arrangements does not transfer the ownership, the government continues to hold it in trust under the doctrine of public trust

#agrcase #AGRdues @DoT_India

Mehta: DOT issued a notice to R Com in March 2019 asking why should we not remove the payment since they had not made the payment

Justice Mishra: We want to know what were the dues of Rcom before judgment and after judgment

#agrcase #AGRdues @DoT_India @RCommCare

Justice Mishra: We want to see the dues and the arrears that accrued after the judgment and bifurcation of the dues in different types of dues.

Year-wise dues.

#agrcase #AGRdues @DoT_India @RCommCare

Justice Mishra: What is the resolution plan, we want to know (wrt RCom)

Senior Counsel Shyam Divan for RCom taking the Court through the documents pertaining to the resolution plan

#agrcase #agrdues @reliancejio

Divan: After RCom's sale to UVARC, zero-coupon bonds will be issued to financial creditors which will be redeemable in 5 years

Divan says that UVARCL was the successful resolution applicant.

Justice Mishra asks which person made this resolution plan?

#agrcase #AGRdues

Justice Mishra asks how the value of assets has reduced so drastically when the value of assets claimed before IBC stood at around Rs 35,000 Cr and now being claimed as over Rs 10,000 Cr.

Divan says he will seek instructions on whether these figures can be reconciled #agrcase

Justice Mishra inquires about the orders passed by the NCLAT after the SC has passed orders with relation to the payment of dues by RCom and Ericsson.

#agrcase #AGRhearing @reliancejio #Ericsson

Divan is taking the Court through the process of initiation of IBC proceedings wrt RCom after the settlement with Ericsson had reached on account of Supreme Court orders

#agrcase #AGRhearing @reliancejio #Ericsson

Justice Mishra circling back to the issue: The central issue is whether you can sell the spectrum. Can you touch it?

Divan: I very much would like to say that it can certainly be subject matter of Resolution plan

#agrcase #AGRhearing @reliancejio #Ericsson

SG Mehta is now taking the Court through spectrum sharing details of other telecos

#agrcase #AGRhearing @reliancejio @VodafoneIN @airtelindia

Mehta yet again seeks to highlight the difference between spectrum trading and spectrum sharing

#agrcase #AGRhearing @reliancejio @VodafoneIN @airtelindia

On Aircel-Airtel sharing of Spectrum, Senior Counsel Kapil Sibal says that the issue was wholly outside the AGR purview

#AGRcase #AGRhearing @KapilSibal @DoT_India @airtelnews

SC seeks to know the government's position on making Jio liable for RCom's AGR dues on account of the sharing spectrum.

SG Mehta says whatever position the SC takes towards securing AGR dues will be supported by the government.

#AGRcase #AGRhearing
@KapilSibal
@reliancejio

SC adjourns the hearing for tomorrow 2PM

Salve expresses difficulty to assist the Court tomorrow.

SC fixes the next date for hearing for Wednesday.

#AGRhearing #agrcase

Salve tells the Court that he will hold consultation with the Chairman of SBI to decide how the conflict between SBI and the DOT, both of which are different government wings, can be resolved

#AGRhearing #agrcase @TheOfficialSBI