New Delhi: The Supreme Court today asked the Union government to clarify its position on loan moratorium scheme.
Hitting out at the government during the hearing on the plea seeking interest waiver for a six-month moratorium on loans announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the apex court observed that the banking regulator’s position will add to the confusion. It said the Centre must clarify its position under the Disaster Management Act as it has got ample powers under it.
“You make your stand clear. You cannot not say anything. It is your responsibility to take steps under the Disaster Management Act. You have enough powers to decide the issue of waiver. You cannot just depend on the RBI,” the bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan observed.
Justice Bhushan also said, “this happened because you locked down the entire country. You have to tell us your stand on the Disaster Management Act and whether Interest on Interest will be accounted for.”
The top court’s comments against the government came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta referred to the RBI’s affidavit in the matter, and said the banking institutions are also distressed.
“This isn’t the time to take care of only the business interests but you must also consider the plight of the people. That’s how RBI’s stands looks like and you are not taking any stand at all,” said the bench, which also included Justices R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah.
At this, the law officer said that these observations may have some repercussions against the government, which has been issuing all necessary directions against the Disaster Management Act.
“Then you must take a stand..There are two issues here. Whether any interest should be charged and whether any interest on interest should be charged during the moratorium period,” said the court.
It reiterated that the government is not filing any reply to make its stand clear but is rather only citing the RBI’s reply. The bench then gave the Centre one week to file its affidavit and take a categorical stand in the matter.