New Delhi, May 10 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Monday told the Centre that all quantities, big or small, of foreign aid should be accepted with the same gratitude with which it was being given, even if it was only one rupee.

"You have to honor the spirit in which it (aid) is being given. By not accepting it (aid in small quantity) you are dishonoring the person giving it," a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said to the Centre.

The court asked the central government counsel appearing in the matter to take instructions on why foreign aid in small quantities was not being accepted by Indian Embassies.

The lawyer appearing for the central government said that there could be a minimum cap on foreign aid as it may not be feasible to bring aid in small quantities.

However, the bench remarked that it was "an attitude problem" of the officials as they do not appreciate aid in small quantities.

"Even one rupee given with gratitude should be accepted with gratitude," the bench said.

It also said that there are flights coming in from abroad bringing back Indians and therefore, smaller quantities of aid can be accommodated in them.

The court also said that smaller quantities of aid can be accumulated at the embassies till they are large enough to be shipped to India.

It asked the lawyer to take instructions and inform the court on Tuesday.

The issue came up after amicus curiae and senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao said he came to know of instances where aid offered has been refused by the Indian embassies.

He said that in one such incident, the people offering the aid had to charter a flight to send medical equipment here.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)