Supreme Court says no to urgent hearing on plea against exchange of Rs 2000 note

NEW DELHI:  The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant an urgent hearing on a plea challenging the recent notification issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and State Bank of India (SBI) permitting the exchange of `2,000 currency notes without any identity proof and requisition slip.

The petition filed by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay assailing the Delhi High Court’s May 29 verdict wherein it had said that the government’s decision was purely a policy decision and courts should not sit as an appellate authority over the government decision was mentioned before the vacation bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and KV Vishwanathan.

Urging the bench to list the plea, Upadhyay told the bench that the notifications were manifestly arbitrary. 
“There is a notification about the RBI and SBI that Rs 2,000 notes can be exchanged without identity proof. This is manifest arbitrariness. All the black money by kidnappers, drug mafia and mining mafia is being exchanged. No requisition slip is required and media reports show that Rs 50,000 crore has been exchanged.”

Refusing to accede to his request, the bench said that it would not take up such matters during vacations. The court, however, granted him the liberty to mention the matter before the Chief Justice of India in July when the court will open after summer vacations.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma of the Delhi HC in the 13-page order had noted that the decision to dispense with the notes was not a decision towards demonetisation since the currency continued to be a legal tender and was only a decision for withdrawal of the notes. 

Additionally, the court had said that it could not be concluded that the government’s decision was perverse, arbitrary or it encouraged black money, money laundering, profiteering or it abetted corruption.