- Apex court denied interference in loan moratorium policy
New Delhi: The Supreme Court refused to interfere in the on case on the interest being charged on interest on the bank loan during the lockdown. The Supreme Court said that the matter of fiscal policies is under the jurisdiction of the Central Government and the RBI. The court cannot conduct a judicial review on this issue. There is limited scope for judicial review on economic policy decisions. The court will not debate academic matters of trade and commerce. We cannot decide which public policy can be better. Cannot cancel a policy on the basis of better policy.
At the same time, the court said that the government decides the economic policy based on the opinion of the RBI expert. Economic expertise cannot be expected from the court. These issues should be approached from a judicial point of view as they are not experts.
At the same time, the court said, we are not advisors of the Center on economic policy. The epidemic affected the entire country, the government offered a financial package. The government had to take care of public health, jobs, financial constraints. The Center cannot ask the RBI to declare financial relief after losing tax due to lockdown. The Center cannot be directed to ask banks to waive interest on loans during the period of lockdown caused by the disaster.
Actually, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court to extend the moratorium period and waive the interest on interest. Apart from this, the power sector, real estate and other sectors were also sought to be included in this scheme. The court reserved the judgment on 17 December last year after hearing the petitioners, the Center, the RBI and the intervenors.
