Address cash woes: SC to govt
Ashish Tripathi, NEW DELHI: Nov 19, 2016, DHNS
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Union government to address the “serious” issue of people facing cash shortage. The court expressed its apprehension that if the situation does not ease soon, it may lead to riots.
A bench of Chief JusticeT S Thakur and Justice Anil R Dave turned down a plea by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to restrain any other high court or district court to hear the matter relating to the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as announced on November 8.
“People are affected. People are frantic. There may be riots... People have the right to approach the courts. Can you dispute it,” the bench asked him.
Rohatgi denied any such possibility, claiming that the people stood silently in queues which became shorter by the day following the decision to apply indelible ink on those exchanging notes.
“See the kind of problems people are facing. People have to go to the high court. If we stop them from going to the high court, how will we know the magnitude of the problem. There would be riots... People going to different courts indicates the magnitude of the problem,” the bench said, referring to news reports about the hardships faced by the public.
Listing out the steps taken by the government, Rohatgi submitted that new notifications have been issued allowing farmers to withdraw Rs 25,000 a week and Rs 2.5 lakh for a wedding.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for a petitioner, contended that the government further brought down the exchange limit from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,000. He said the situation has gone from bad to worse with the death of 47 people. He also claimed that there is no capacity to print notes worth Rs 23 lakh crore required in the process.
The bench asked Rohatgi if there was any difficulty in printing Rs 100 notes.
He responded by saying the banks had started distributing Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currency notes.
He also pointed out that the facility for withdrawal of Rs 2,000 has been extended to petrol pumps.
Rohatgi also accused Sibal of making a political attempt in the court by exaggerating the issue. He reminded Sibal that he was representing a private party here. Sibal countered him, saying he was not raising any political issue.
The court, however, asked Sibal to place all materials including the difficulties faced by the people before the Attorney General, who would respond on November 25, the next date of hearing.
The bench allowed Rohatgi to file a transfer petition, indicating it may refer all petitions filed in different courts to the Delhi High Court.
No move to seal bank lockers
The Centre on Friday dispelled rumours that it was going to seal lockers as part of its next move on demonetisation aimed at curbing the black money menace. It said on its twitter handle that it was merely a myth.
EC concern over indelible ink
The Election Commission has written to the finance ministry asking it to ensure the use of indelible ink by banks does not cause confusion in poll-bound states. Five states are going to bypolls on Saturday.
Cash exchange only for elderly
The Indian Banks Association will not entertain requests for exchange of old currency notes at banks across the country on Saturday, but has made an exception for senior citizens.
A bench of Chief JusticeT S Thakur and Justice Anil R Dave turned down a plea by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to restrain any other high court or district court to hear the matter relating to the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as announced on November 8.
“People are affected. People are frantic. There may be riots... People have the right to approach the courts. Can you dispute it,” the bench asked him.
Rohatgi denied any such possibility, claiming that the people stood silently in queues which became shorter by the day following the decision to apply indelible ink on those exchanging notes.
“See the kind of problems people are facing. People have to go to the high court. If we stop them from going to the high court, how will we know the magnitude of the problem. There would be riots... People going to different courts indicates the magnitude of the problem,” the bench said, referring to news reports about the hardships faced by the public.
Listing out the steps taken by the government, Rohatgi submitted that new notifications have been issued allowing farmers to withdraw Rs 25,000 a week and Rs 2.5 lakh for a wedding.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for a petitioner, contended that the government further brought down the exchange limit from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,000. He said the situation has gone from bad to worse with the death of 47 people. He also claimed that there is no capacity to print notes worth Rs 23 lakh crore required in the process.
The bench asked Rohatgi if there was any difficulty in printing Rs 100 notes.
He responded by saying the banks had started distributing Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currency notes.
He also pointed out that the facility for withdrawal of Rs 2,000 has been extended to petrol pumps.
Rohatgi also accused Sibal of making a political attempt in the court by exaggerating the issue. He reminded Sibal that he was representing a private party here. Sibal countered him, saying he was not raising any political issue.
The court, however, asked Sibal to place all materials including the difficulties faced by the people before the Attorney General, who would respond on November 25, the next date of hearing.
The bench allowed Rohatgi to file a transfer petition, indicating it may refer all petitions filed in different courts to the Delhi High Court.
No move to seal bank lockers
The Centre on Friday dispelled rumours that it was going to seal lockers as part of its next move on demonetisation aimed at curbing the black money menace. It said on its twitter handle that it was merely a myth.
EC concern over indelible ink
The Election Commission has written to the finance ministry asking it to ensure the use of indelible ink by banks does not cause confusion in poll-bound states. Five states are going to bypolls on Saturday.
Cash exchange only for elderly
The Indian Banks Association will not entertain requests for exchange of old currency notes at banks across the country on Saturday, but has made an exception for senior citizens.
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