Banks Free To Restructure Loans, But Can't Penalise Borrowers, Supreme Court Told

Banks are free to restructure loans but they cannot penalise honest borrowers by charging interest on deferred EMI payments under the moratorium scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic, a petitioner opposing the move said in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, which commenced final hearing on a batch of pleas raising the issue of interest on instalments deferred under the scheme during the moratorium period, was told that paying interest on interest is a "double whammy" for borrowers.