At a time when even ally BJP is opposing its plans to enact a law to take over the Bangalore-Mysore expressway project, the Kumaraswamy coalition in Karnataka has landed itself in another spot: fined by the Supreme Court, the Rs 5 lakh cheque it issued to project implementer Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) has bounced.

The cheque of the Treasury branch of the State Bank of Mysore (SBM) was returned yesterday by the M G Road Branch of the Canara Bank, where the NICE has an account, with the remark “cheque not honoured due to insufficient funds.”

Ashok Kheny, NICE managing director, said the matter had already been brought to the notice of the government. The company, he said, was exploring the option of initiating legal action against the government.

N Gokulram, Principal Secretary in the Finance department, maintained there was no question of cheques bouncing as the “government has sufficient funds in its treasury” and that “Rs 5 lakh is an insignificant amount for the government since we are clearing cheques for higher amounts.”

Official sources, in the meantime, claimed the cheque was returned due to a technical snag and the government had already communicated the matter to NICE.