The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition that sought to postpone the presentation of Budget 2017 to after the announcement of the results of the state elections in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Manipur and Uttarakhand.
Manohar Lal Sharma, the advocate who filed the petition in the Supreme Court, had said that people would face problems if the Budget was presented during the upcoming assembly elections in the five states. He added that the results of the polls could also be influenced.
However, the apex court said that the presentation of the budget has "nothing to do with states" and stressed on the fact that assembly elections are held so often that they cannot delay the work of the centre.
"Throughout the year, there may be elections in different states, so should the centre not present the budget?" the judges asked.
The opposition had also demanded that the Budget be presented after the Assembly elections in February. However, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) had dismissed their demand for postponement of the presentation of Budget 2017.
The budget for 2017-18 will be presented on its decided date of February 1, 2017, a day after the Parliament session begins.
