The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred to November 5 hearing on the pleas seeking an extension of the loan moratorium and waiver of interest on term loans during the six-month moratorium period. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan deferred the matter after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought adjournment citing he had to appear before another bench in connection with the hearing of petitions challenging the Central Vista construction project. “We defer the hearing. We will hear the case day after tomorrow, (November, 5),” Justice Bhushan said. The petitioners also agreed to the argument of Mehta for deferment. The top court was hearing petitions, including two filed by one Gajendra Sharma lawyer Vishal Tiwari, seeking the waiving of interest on interest and other appropriate directions in the loan moratorium, granted as a relief due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Central government, in its affidavit filed before the apex court on October 25, had stated that the interest waiver scheme can be availed by borrowers in specified loan accounts for a period from March 1 to August 31, 2020. This decision was taken by the Ministry of Finance and has been approved by the Union Cabinet in its meeting held on October 21, the affidavit stated. Earlier, the Ministry of Finance has approved a scheme to provide relief in interest compounding to borrowers for the six-month loan moratorium period up to Rs 2 crore after the top court had directed the Centre to implement the interest waiver on loans as soon as possible observing that it is not fair on the government’s part to delay the implementation of its decision.
