NEW DELHI: Giving a green signal to presentation of the Union Budget on February 1, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking its postponement on the ground that it will affect the assembly elections in five states.
A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said, “Give us one concrete example that presentation of annual budget by Centre will affect minds of people in states going to have elections.”
Advocate M L Sharma failed to produce any illustration to prove the same.
The PIL said the Centre be directed to present the Union Budget in the financial year 2017-18 which would commence from April 1, instead of the proposed February date 1 and also sought that the central government be restrained from declaring “any relief, programme, financial budget until the states’ elections are over” as they would violate the Model Code of Conduct.
The poll panel had annoucnced the election schedule on January 4 to be held in five states, including Uttar Pradesh. The Centre has already decided to convene the Budget Session of Parliament from 31 January to present the Budget for 2017-18 fiscal the very next day.