Telecom shares crack; Vodafone Idea plunges 35 pc

Telecom shares came crashing on Wednesday, led by Vodafone Idea which plunged 35 per cent 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 34.85 per cent to close at Rs 3.16 on the BSE. During the day, it dived 40 per cent to Rs 2.91. Bharti Airtel also declined 6.14 per cent to close at Rs 426.20 after falling 9.86 per cent to Rs 409.30 during the day.

Both the companies erased their early gains.

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 October 24 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.

The BSE telecom index plunged most by 9.48 per cent as all its components cracked including Bharti Infratel which tanked 22.62 per cent.

"The global mayhem combined rising coronavirus cases in India triggered the initial fall, which further worsened with the Supreme Court's stance on AGR dues," Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd said.

In the equity market, the BSE benchmark tumbled 1,709.58 points or 5.59 per cent.