New Delhi, Oct. 14 -- The Supreme Court on Monday again deferred hearing Vodafone Idea Ltd's plea seeking a waiver on its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to the government. The matter will now be taken up by the court when it reopens after Diwali. The apex court will remain closed for Diwali from 20-25 October. The matter relates to Vodafone Idea, which filed a petition last month challenging the Department of Telecommunication (DoT)'s demand for an additional Rs.9,450 crore in adjusted gross revenue dues. India's third-largest telecom operator has also sought waiver of interest and penalties on its dues, arguing that the disputed components of the dues have not yet been finalised. The case was deferred for hearing after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, sought additional time. In response, Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai asked Mehta to come up with a specific stand and deferred the hearing of the case for a fourth time. At 12.50pm, Vodafone Idea shares were down 2.88% at Rs.8.78 each on NSE, while the Nifty 50 was down 0.41%. The Supreme Court had in 2020 locked Vodafone Idea's AGR dues till 2016-17 based on DoT's calculations, adding that no self-assessment or re-assessment of the dues would be permitted. However, DoT has now sought additional payments for up to 2018-19, Vodafone Idea stated in its petition filed on 8 September. Of the fresh Rs.9,450-crore dues sought, the additional demand raised by DoT from Idea Group and Vodafone Idea (post-merger in August 2018) was Rs.2,774 crore, while the demand against Vodafone Group (pre-merger) was Rs.6,675 crore, according to the petition. The department informed the telecom operator that the licence fee dues were calculated with interest and interest on penalty up to October 2019, and were updated up to 31 March 2025, with interest calculated at an annual rate of 8%. On 19 September, the Supreme Court deferred the hearing to 26 September, but the government sought more time. The case was then deferred to 6 October and 13 October thereafter. During the 19 September hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that since the government now holds a significant equity stake in Vodafone Idea, a balanced solution that protects consumer interests was needed. Vodafone Idea, however, had argued in its amended petition filed on 18 September that the Supreme Court had in 2020 only "directed inclusion of the disputed heads for the computation of AGR. Hence, till date, it cannot be said that there was any default in payment requiring imposition of penalty". Later, the company filed an amended petition with the Supreme Court seeking a waiver of penalties and interest on AGR dues, arguing that the disputed components of the dues have yet to be finalised. According to the amended petition, both DoT and the telecom operator agree that the amounts need to be reconciled, corrected, and finalised....