New Delhi, Jun 17: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Centre over the loan moratorium issue, saying that the Central Government cannot raise its hands in helplessness and deferred the hearing till the first week of August.
Hearing a petition, filed by one Gajendra Sharma, seeking appropriate directions on waiving of interest during the moratorium period, the apex court said, ‘Centre can’t now say it is between banks and customers. If you announced moratorium, you must ensure the benefits are given to customers purposefully.’
‘You (Centre) took time to find a way out, but nothing has happened. Centre can’t leave it to banks now,’ observed the three-judge bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, and also comprising Justices MR Shah and SC Kaul.
The Court asked the Centre to clarify whether the banks can charge interest on deferred interest on the outstanding loans, or the Centre can burden this.
Senior Advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi, representing the banks, sought that the SC hear this case only after three months.
