The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Kerala government to “mentally prepare itself” as the court may not be able to give an interim order in its favor on a plea alleging the Centre’s interference in the state’s finances by imposing a ceiling on net borrowing.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan made the remark after the Kerala government informed the bench that a meeting held on February 15 between the state and the Centre had not yielded any result.
“This is pure financial thicket. How much can a court interfere, that too by an interim order,” the bench said, adding, “Mentally prepare yourself (Kerala) that we may not be able to give an interim order. We are not experts on the subject matter.” At the outset, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Kerala government, said, “For borrowing, they are telling us to first withdraw the suit and then they will consider. Are we going to be penalized for filing a suit for our financial rights?” Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, appearing for the Centre, refuted the allegation of Sibal and gave the figures of consent given for borrowing, saying the Union went beyond the guidelines and allowed them to borrow.