From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court Tuesday reserved its orders in a PIL challenging the notifications issued by the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank India allowing the exchange of Rs. 2000 currency notes without obtaining any requisition slip and identity proof as arbitrary and against Articles 14 of the Constitution.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad reserved orders in the matter filed by advocate and petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.
Upadhyay submitted, “I’m not challenging the entire notification… I’m challenging in so far as it allows the exchange of notes without seeking any identity card or slip”.
The RBI notification was issued on May 19 and the SBI notification was issued on May 20.
Upadhyay said that “presently 130 crore Indians have Aadhaar cards which means every family has three-four Aadhaar cards so why is it not being asked for?”. He said the notifications would enable “Gangsters like Atiq Ahmed and their henchmen” to approach banks and get their money exchanged adding, “koi limit nahi hai”.
Appearing for RBI, senior advocate Parag Tripathi argued, “This is not demonetisation. This is a statutory exercise… None of the points claimed in the petition deals with or impinges upon the constitutional issues”. Tripathi also referred to various judgments of the Supreme Court which held that courts will not be persuaded to get into matters of economic policy.
After hearing the parties, the HC said it will pass appropriate orders.
In his plea, Upadhyay has also prayed RBI and SBI be directed to ensure that the Rs. 2000 currency notes are deposited in respective bank accounts only so that no one can deposit the money in other accounts and people with black money and disproportionate assets could be identified easily.
The PIL states that a large amount of the currency has reached either an individual’s locker or has “been hoarded by the separatists, terrorists, Maoists, drug smugglers, mining mafias & corrupt people”.
