New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea for deferring the Union budget 2017-18, in view of assembly polls in five states, holding that the presentation has to be done before the start of the financial year (FY) -- from April 1 -- and not during the FY.

Rejecting the plea, a bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice N.V. Ramana and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said: "If there is something that the Centre does that affects elections in the states then the Election Commission would come into the picture ... but does it extend to the central budget?"

Advocate M.L. Sharma, however, persisted with his plea for deferment of the presentations of the budget as, he contended, it would influence the voters and thus affect free and fair elections. 

The bench then asked him to give one concrete example to show that one step in the budget that would affect the minds of the voters and the outcome of the elections in the states. -Agency