Shares of Bharti Airtel on Wednesday fell 6 per cent amid reports that the government is learnt to have approved levying of Rs 650-crore penalty on the company for violating roaming norms in 13 service areas between 2003 and 2005.
The telecom major's scrip settled for the day at Rs 278.45, down 5.74 per cent from its previous close on the BSE. In the intra-day trade, stock tumbled 6.19 per cent to Rs 277.10.
On the NSE, the stock lost 5.91 per cent to close at Rs 277.85. The scrip was the top loser among blue-chips on both the key indices -- Sensex and Nifty.
"Bharti Airtel which was among major gainers on Tuesday, toppled down by almost 6 per cent today, after the Department of Telecom placed a Rs 650-crore penalty on the company for violating roaming policies," said Rakesh Goyal, Senior Vice President, Bonanza Portfolio Ltd.
The penalty on the company has been imposed after an internal committee of Department of Telecom said it found Bharti Airtel routing national and international calls as local calls (SLD) under a scheme till 2005 despite being told to stop it in 2003, causing loss to the exchequer and state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).
In the broader market, the BSE benchmark Sensex ended the day 77.03 points lower at 18,552.12.
