New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the Center a week to clarify its position on waiving interest on deferred payments on loan maturities during the moratorium period announced due to the coronavirus lockdown.Read also – Delhi lockdown is not a solution to pollution, it will affect businesses and economy, traders body says
A bench led by Judge Ashok Bhushan took note of the Centre’s alleged inaction, saying the Center had not clearly expressed its position on the issue despite having sufficient powers under the Law on disaster management and that it “was hiding behind the RBI. ”. Read also – Pollution crisis: air quality in Delhi will remain very poor; No improvement in sight for the next 3 days
“My Lordships cannot say that. We are working in coordination with RBI, ”the government said after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Read also – Ready to impose full lockdown to tackle air pollution: Delhi government to Supreme Court | Key points
The bench, also comprising Justices R Subhash Reddy and Judge MR Shah, asked the Solicitor General to clarify the position on the Disaster Management Act and whether additional interest on existing interest could be accrued.
Mehta argued that there cannot be a common solution to all problems.
Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioner, informed the judiciary that the deadline for the moratorium on loans will end on August 31 and requested its extension.
“I am only saying that until these requests are decided, the extension should not end,” Sibal said.
The Supreme Court has now posted the case for hearing on September 1.
The highest court previously said there was “no merit in charging interest on interest” for deferred loan payments during the moratorium period announced following the COVID-19 pandemic.
(With contributions from the agency)
