Vodafone Idea at Risk After India Top Court Rejects Plea
Vodafone Idea at Risk After India Top Court Rejects Plea
(Bloomberg) -- India’s top court rejected a plea by mobile carriers seeking more time to settle billions of dollars in back-fees and began contempt proceedings against the companies, threatening to push Vodafone Group Plc’s beleaguered local venture to the brink weeks after it warned of a potential collapse.
The Supreme Court’s three-judge panel, headed by Arun Mishra, said Friday that operators including Vodafone Idea Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd. -- owing a total of $13 billion in back-fees for spectrum and licenses -- must deposit the dues by March 17.
| Read more on India’s telecom woes here: |
|---|
| India Is Gouging Its Wireless Carriers to Fill a Budget Hole |
| Vodafone’s India Unit Chairman Says End is Near If No Support |
| Franklin Cuts Vodafone Idea’s Debt Value to Zero on Court Snub |
| A $21 Billion Telco War Comes Down to $2: Andy Mukherjee |
--With assistance from P R Sanjai.
To contact the reporters on this story: Upmanyu Trivedi in New Delhi at utrivedi2@bloomberg.net;Ragini Saxena in Mumbai at rsaxena30@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Nagarajan at samnagarajan@bloomberg.net, Jeanette Rodrigues
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.