(Updates with more information)
** Shares in India's No. 2 telecom firm, Vodafone Idea
, down ~17% at 3.75 rupees
** India's Supreme Court slams mobile carriers for
non-payment of billions of dollars in government dues,
threatening them with contempt proceedings if they did not pay
up by March 17
** Over 1 bln Vodafone Idea shares change hands, the stock's
5th busiest day ever; Sessions in which 1 bln or more shares
were traded have all occurred in the last three months following
the Supreme Court upholding the govt's demands in October
** VODA is saddled with about $3.9 billion in overdue
payments, the biggest portion of the industry levy; Its Chairman
Kumar Birla has warned the company may "shut shop" if it doesn't
get relief
** Co on Thursday posted a bigger loss, its sixth straight
quarterly loss, and maintained there was uncertainty about its
ability to continue as a "going concern"
** VODA shares, once trading at a peak of over 120 rupees in
2015, hit a record intraday low of 2.40 rupees in November
(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman, Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru)