NEW DELHI: On the 25th, the Supreme Court will hear Kerala's demand for a stay on the central finance ministry's decision to impose a borrowing ceiling. It was also directed to deliver the summons through a messenger to Attorney General R. Venkataramani.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the court today that Kerala is struggling financially. Based on urgent consideration of the petition, the bench comprising justices Suryakant and KV Viswanathan decided to hear the case on the 25th. Justice KV Viswanathan is a Malayali.

The court first directed to send a notice to the Attorney General seeking the central government's response to the petition. However, Kapil Sibal reminded the court that usually summons are sent for this type of original suit. A summons was sent to the Attorney General in the original suit filed by Kerala against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

When Kapil Sibal informed that it was ultimately a matter for the Constitution Bench to consider, Justice Suryakant responded that Article 293(3) of the Constitution was involved. This provision states that the state government cannot take a loan without the permission of the central government in situations where it is indebted to the central government.

Kerala seeking stay

Kerala has demanded the urgent disposal of two letters of the Union Finance Ministry, which have placed borrowing limits. These are the letters issued on 27 March and 11 August 2023. Kerala is trying to get an interim stay on the 25th, the day of the hearing. Kerala pointed out that the state has incurred a cumulative loss of over Rs 1,07,513 crore from 2016 to 2023 due to the central stance. The other demands in the petition are that 26,226 crores should be urgently needed to overcome the crisis and that the work of the treasury should not be disrupted.

Centre is withholding money: Minister Balagopal

Finance Minister KN Balagopal said that for frivolous reasons, the central government is withholding the financial allocation due to Kerala. He was inaugurating the panel discussion jointly organized by Kerala Economic Association and Gulathi Institute of Finance and Taxation.

Kerala's achievements turn into minus marks. The centre does not take into account the fact that land prices and wages are high in Kerala while sanctioning projects. 1400 crores due in the health sector is not given in the name of branding of hospitals. The amount is withheld for the Vizhinjam scheme and life scheme. Kerala held on because of its record gains in revenue. Otherwise, even the salary would have stopped. The campaign that Kerala is in debt is not true. The minister also stated that the debt of the pension company has reduced from 34,000 crores to 11,000 crores.