Delhi HC rejects PIL challenging RBI’s move to withdraw ₹2000 notes

The announcement of withdrawal of ₹2,000 currency notes from circulation was announced on May 19. To ensure a smooth elimination of the circulation of the high currency notes, the central bank has ordered all banks to provide deposit and exchange facilities for ₹2,000 notes until September 30, 2023

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“Dismissed,” said the bench consisting of chief justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad while rejecting the plea. The bench had reserved its order on the PIL on May 30 after considering all the arguments of counsels for the petitioner and the RBI.

This is not the first time when the court had dismissed lawyer and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay’s plea challenging RBI’s permission for exchanging ₹2,000 currency notes without any identity proof.

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In his plea against the RBI’s order of withdrawal, petitioner Rajneesh Bhaskar Gupta mentioned that the RBI has now the power to withdraw the ₹2000 currency notes from circulation. He contended that only the central government has the power to take any decision in this regard. It was mentioned in the petition that RBI has no independent power under the RBI Act to take such a decision.

The PIL mentioned the decision to withdraw a note only after 4-5 years of circulation within a specific deadline as “unjust, arbitrary and against the public policy”.

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The PIL also submits that the RBI mentioned no specific reason other than the “Clean Note Policy” to take such a “big arbitrary decision” on the withdrawal of banknotes from circulation. The move was taken “without analysing the expected problems of the public at large,” highlighted the petition.

The petitioner also mentioned problems in using ₹2,000 notes and contended that small vendors and other shopkeepers have also stopped taking ₹2,000 notes. Till now, there has been no clarity by the RBI about how the decision will benefit the national economy, said the petitioner.

In support of its decision to withdraw ₹2000 notes, the RBI had argued that the removal of ₹2,000 notes is a whole exercise under the currency management system. It also underlined that its reiteration is not demonetisation. On behalf of the RBI, advocate Parag P Tripathi, for RBI, had contended that the ₹2,000 note is not functioning as a currency and it is virtually kept out of circulation for some time now.

Updated: 03 Jul 2023, 12:11 PM IST