Airtel and Vodafone Idea Score Landmark Victory; Bombay HC Scraps Retrospective Spectrum Levies

The Bombay High Court has provided relief for India’s telecom giants, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. In a ruling aimed at ending a 13-year-old legal battle, the court set aside government notices that demanded retrospective one-time spectrum charges (OTSC). The court ruled that the government cannot unilaterally change the financial terms of existing license agreements, providing the companies with potential relief totaling over ₹24,000 crore.