The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the notifications issued by the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of India permitting the exchange of Rs 2,000 notes without furnishing any identity proof.
In his plea, advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay asked why the RBI had allowed the exchange of Rs 2,000 notes without obtaining identity proof when the Centre has already claimed that every family in the country has an Aadhaar card and bank account.
He further stated in his plea that the 80 crore BPL families that receive free food grains rarely use Rs 2,000 banknotes, and sought directions to the RBI and SBI to ensure that the currency notes are deposited in bank accounts only.
However, a division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad of the Delhi High Court rejected the plea. A copy of the detailed order is awaited.
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Arguing for the RBI last week, senior advocate Parag P Tripathi referred to past Supreme Court judgments that held that the courts will not be persuaded to interfere in matters concerning economic policy. He further argued that the issue being raised by Upadhyay was not a statutory exercise. “This is not demonetisation. None of the points raised by my learned friend in any manner impinges upon the public issues,” he said.
In his PIL, Upadhyay had also sought directions to ensure that the banknotes be deposited only in the bank accounts of the depositors only and not in any bank account to allow easy identification of people having black money and disproportionate assets.
The RBI recently announced its decision to withdraw all Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation but said that the currency will continue as legal tender. The central bank said people may deposit Rs 2,000 banknotes into their bank accounts and/or exchange them into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch.
“In order to ensure operational convenience and to avoid disruption of regular activities of bank branches, exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes into banknotes of other denominations can be made upto a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank starting from May 23, 2023,” a press note issued by the RBI said.