AGR case: The govt should be filing a review petition, says Kapil Sibal

Sibal says the government should feel aggrieved that its decision - to grant 20 years to telecom companies to make the payment - has been turned down

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented Hughes Communications in the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues case in the Supreme Court, tells Sudipto Dey and Aditi Phadnis that the government should feel aggrieved that its decision — to grant 20 years to telecom companies to make the payment — has been turned down. Edited excerpts:

Is there any clarity on whether the payments made so far by telecom companies towards AGR dues would be treated as the “upfront amount”, or do they have to pay over and above what they have so far?

The government had, through a cabinet decision, granted