Supreme Court Reserves Verdict On Demonetisation Pleas, Directs Centre, RBI To Place Related Records

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court directed the government and the Reserve Bank of India to provide the relevant records relating to the 2016 demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in a sealed cover for the court to review.

Reserving its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the centre's 2016 decision, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer heard the submissions from Attorney General R Venkataramani, RBI's counsel, and the petitioners' lawyers, including senior advocates P Chidambaram and Shyam Divan.

The top court directed the parties to file written submissions by 10 December.

Venkataramani submitted before the bench that he will submit relevant records in a sealed cover.

The top court was hearing a batch of 58 petitions challenging the demonetisation announced by the Centre on 8 November 2016.

During arguments in court, senior advocate Divan said that a recommendation from the RBI was necessary before the centre could make the decision to demonetise currency notes.

Divan argued that while the central government was found wanting in its duty, the RBI also did not act correctly. The Attorney General for India, R Venkataramani, denied these allegations on behalf of the central government.

In an affidavit recently submitted to the Supreme Court, the centre defended the demonetisation exercise as a 'well-considered' decision that was part of a larger strategy to combat fake money, terrorism financing, black money, and tax evasion.

The central government also stated that the decision was made after extensive consultation with the RBI and that necessary preparations were made before the note ban was implemented.

(with inputs from PTI)