National desk
18 September
Sandeep Dhand Ludhiana
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to list for hearing the Punjab government’s petition seeking the release of Rs 1,000 crore from the Center as arrears for the Rural Development Fund (RDF). The bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra, addressed the matter after Punjab’s counsel requested an urgent hearing.
The Punjab government’s lawyer highlighted that although the petition was supposed to be heard on September 2, it was not taken up. He urged for immediate issuance of a notice to the Central Government so that it could respond before the hearing.
While the Chief Justice confirmed that the petition would be listed, no formal notice was issued to the Center. On August 30, the Supreme Court had assured the Punjab government that the matter would be considered on September 2.
Punjab has filed this interim application seeking the immediate release of over Rs 1,000 crore as an interim measure. The dispute arose when the state government accused the Center of withholding the Rural Development Fund and part of the market fee since 2023.