AGR dues: Telecom shares crack after SC pulls up Centre, telcos; Vodafone Idea plunges 40%, Bharti Airtel down 5%

New Delhi: Telecom shares came crashing on Wednesday, led by Vodafone Idea which plunged 40 percent, after the Supreme Court pulled up the Centre and telcos for doing self-assessment or reassessment of the AGR dues fixed by the apex court.

Vodafone Idea plunged 40 percent to Rs 2.91 and Bharti Airtel declined 5 percent to Rs 431.25 on the BSE. Both the companies erased their early gains and were trading with losses.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Centre and telecom companies for doing self-assessment or reassessment of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues fixed by the apex court in its verdict given on 24 October last year.

The apex court, which was also anguished by frequently published newspaper articles on the AGR issue, said all managing directors of telecom companies will be personally responsible and will be held for contempt of court for any such future newspaper articles.