The Central Administrative Court turned down an attempt by former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra for an injunction to stay a Finance Ministry order to seek compensation on the rice-pledging programme.
The court dismissed her request for an injunction, but only on the narrow grounds that no administrative order had yet been enforced to actually seize assets or money to settle the damages.
The ruling left open the chance to try again to seek an injunction if authorities move to enforce the assets-seizure order.
Ms Yingluck has sought the court's permission to put the brakes on an order by the ministry demanding her to pay for the damage of the scheme until her lawsuit filed in the same court on Dec 26 against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and three other defendants -- the minister, his deputy and the permanent secretary of the Finance Ministry -- finalises.
The four defendants involved in the decision of the ministry on Oct 13 ordering her to pay 35.7 billion baht, or around 20% of the 178-billion-baht damage incurred from the 2012-14 crops.
The scheme was a flagship policy of her Pheu Thai Party-led government. As the prime minister, she chaired the National Rice Policy Committee, which governed the policy.
The court said on Monday that it found no ground to issue an injunction on the ministry order as the damage claimed by her has not been incurred -- her assets have not been seized yet.
While the ministry threatened to freeze her assets if she ignores the payment, it has yet to do it, the court added.
The ministry sent the compensation order to Ms Yingluck on Oct 20 with a warning to confiscate her wealth in 15 days unless she paid the bill.
The court's ruling is similar to what in gave former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and his deputy in February when it denied their injunction requests involving the government-to-government rice sales.
Ms Yingluck was not at the court on Monday. She was making merit at temples in the old capital.
The former prime minister used the occasion to allow well-wishers to give her blessings on Songkran Day, the Thai traditional new year.
