Delhi High Court rejects plea challenging RBI decision to exchange ₹2,000 notes
The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition challenging the decision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to withdraw ₹2,000 currency notes from circulation.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad rejected the plea.
The petition had been filed by an advocate named Rajneesh Bhaskar Gupta who contended that the RBI had no independent power under the RBI Act to discontinue banknotes.
He said that the power to discontinue banknotes only lay with the Central government and that there was nothing to show that the government had passed any such order.
Interestingly, the High Court had, on May 29, rejected a plea filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Ashwini Upadhyay challenging the RBI’s decision to exchange these notes without the requirement of any identity proof.
The Court had observed that ₹2,000 notes have served their purpose and that the decision to withdraw the same was a policy matter which should not be interfered with by the courts.
“Therefore, it cannot be said that the decision of the Government is perverse or arbitrary or it encourages black money, money laundering, profiteering or it abets corruption,” the judgment had stated.
Upadhyay proceeded to move the Supreme Court with his plea, which is presently pending before the top court. Last month, the Supreme Court refused to urgently list the matter.
