New Delhi: On Wednesday, the Punjab Government was given the assurance by the Supreme Court that their case for the immediate release of more than Rs 1,000 crore from the Center based on unpaid Market Fees and Rural Development Fees (RDF) would be heard.
Punjab Government wants an immediate release of 1,000 crore from the center as unpaid Market fees and Rural Development Fees
The Punjab government’s lawyer urged a three-judge bench chaired by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud to consider the state’s interim application, which was scheduled for hearing on September 2 but could not be handled due to time constraints.
In order to guarantee that a response was recorded prior to the matter going to trial, the lawyer asked the Bench to send a notice to the Center regarding the Punjab Government’s plea.
“We will list the IA (interim application) for the hearing,” the CJI said, without issuing a notice to the Centre on the state’s plea.
Punjab Government seeks help from Supreme Court
The Punjab government filed a lawsuit against the Central government in the Supreme Court last year for allegedly not paying statutory fees totaling thousands of crores of rupees that the State government had levied on behalf of the Central government when purchasing food grains.
The State of Punjab initially challenged the Center under Article 131 of the Constitution, claiming that the Center was refusing to return the statutory Market Fees and Rural Development Fees levied by the state on behalf of the Centre.
The Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction over disputes involving the Center and one or more states, or between two or more states, is addressed under Article 131 of the Constitution.
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