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Demonetisation
A plea seeking a review of the judgement that upheld the Centre's 2016 decision to demonetise Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes was filed in the Supreme Court on Sunday. A five-judge Constitution bench, in a 4:1 majority verdict, on January 2 had given its stamp of approval, saying the decision-making process was neither flawed nor hasty. The review plea was filed by lawyer ML Sharma, one of the 58 petitioners who had moved the top court challenging the demonetisation exercise announced on November 8, 2016. Sharma, in his review plea, contended that the bench did not consider his written arguments in its verdict on the batch of pleas which led to serious injustice and miscarriage of justice. It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that ... may be pleased to: (i) Review the Judgment..., it said. Observing that the scope of judicial review in matters of economic policy is "narrower", a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer, since retired, had said there has
The lone dissenting voice in the demonetisation judgment, Nagarathna will be India's first woman CJI in 2027
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Six years after the govt demonetised 86% of cash in circulation, the Supreme Court on Monday nixed petitions challenging the move and upheld its legality. So what did the court say in its verdict?
Dissenting judge Nagarathna says 2016 note ban legally flawed
Cash in circulation rose faster after note ban, up 14%
Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court judgement upholding the decision of the Modi government to demonetise high value currency notes in November 2016. On November 8, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced demonetisation of old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 banknotes and one of the key objectives of the unprecedented decision was to promote digital payments and curb black money flows. "Welcome the Hon'ble Supreme Court's judgement today on Demonetization. A five-judge Constitution Bench (via a 4-1 majority) has upheld the Demonetization after carefully examining the issue & has dismissed several petitions challenging the decision," Sitharaman said in a series of tweets. "There were consultations between the Centre & RBI for a period of 6 months. There is a reasonable nexus to bring such a measure & it satisfies the test of proportionality. Decision-making process cannot be faulted merely because the proposal emanated from the Centre," she
The Supreme Court said on Monday the Centre is empowered to demonetise 'all' series of bank notes under Section 26(2) of the RBI Act. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer, which upheld the Centre's 2016 demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes by a 4:1 majority verdict, said a statute must be construed having regard to the legislative intent. "The power available to the Central Government under sub-section (2) of Section 26 of the RBI Act cannot be restricted to mean that it can be exercised only for one' or some' series of bank notes and not for all' series of bank notes. "The power can be exercised for all series of bank notes. Merely because on two earlier occasions, the demonetisation exercise was by plenary legislation, it cannot be held that such a power would not be available to the Central Government under sub-section (2) of Section 26 of the RBI Act," the bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, ...
The BJP on Monday hailed as "historic" the Supreme Court order upholding the government's demonetisation exercise and asked if the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will tender an apology for his campaign against the note ban after the apex court judgment. The Supreme Court in a 4:1 majority verdict upheld the government's 2016 decision to demonetise Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination notes, saying the decision-making process was not flawed. Former law minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad also asserted that the demonetisation done in 2016 proved to be the "biggest blow" to terrorism by curbing terror funding. It boosted income tax and cleansed the economy, he claimed. "It is a historic decision and is in the national interest. The Supreme Court has held a decision taken in the national interest valid. Will Rahul Gandhi now say sorry for his campaign against demonetisation? He spoke against it even abroad," he said at a press conference. Prasad also hit out at Congress leaders, ...
The Supreme Court in a 4:1 majority verdict on Monday upheld the government's 2016 decision to demonetise Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination notes and said the decision-making process was not flawed. Following is a timeline of events in the case: November 8, 2016: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses nation and announces demonetisation of high-value currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000. November 9, 2016: Plea filed in Supreme Court challenging decision. December 16, 2016: Bench headed by then chief justice T S Thakur refers question of validity of the decision and other questions to a larger bench of five judges for authoritative pronouncement. August 11, 2017: Unusual deposits of Rs 1.7 lakh crore during demonetisation, says RBI paper. In nominal terms, excess deposits accrued to the banking system due to demonetisation estimated in the range of Rs 2.8-4.3 lakh crore, it says. July 23, 2017: Massive searches, seizures and surveys by Income Tax department over the last three year
Demonetisation of the high value currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 did not have any discernible impact on currency in circulation (CIC) in the country, which has soared by almost 83 per cent since its announcement on November 8, 2016. The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the decision of the government on demonetisation. On November 8, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced demonetisation of old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 banknotes and one of the key objectives of the unprecedented decision was to promote digital payments and curb black money flows. According to the Reserve Bank data, the CIC in value terms soared from Rs 17.74 lakh crore on November 4, 2016, to Rs 32.42 lakh crore on December 23, 2022. However, soon after demonetisation, the CIC fell precipitously to a low of about Rs 9 lakh crore on January 6, 2017, nearly 50 per cent of Rs 17.74 lakh crore on November 4, 2016. This was the lowest in the past six years following the scrapping of old 500/1,000 bank notes that
Justice B V Nagarathna of the Supreme Court, who gave a dissenting verdict on demonetisation on Monday, said the scrapping of the whole series of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes had to be done through a legislation and not through a gazette notification as Parliament cannot be left aloof in a matter of such critical importance. Justice Nagarathna, who was the juniormost judge in the Constitution bench also comprising justices S A Nazeer, B R Gavai, A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said the demonetisation of an entire series of notes at the Centre's instance is a far more serious issue that has wider implications on the economy and the citizens of the country. Observing that there was no independent application of mind by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Justice Nagarathna said the entire exercise was carried out in 24 hours. "In my view, the power of the central government being vast has to be exercised through a plenary legislation rather than by an executive act by issuance o
Congress while reacting to the SC judgement on demonetisation said the court only pronounced its verdict on whether Section 26(2) of the RBI Act, 1934 was correctly applied or not
Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said the majority verdict by the Supreme Court has steered clear of the question whether the objectives of the demonetisation exercise were achieved at all. The 'minority' judgement pointed out the 'illegality' and the 'irregularities' in the demonetisation, Chidambaram said on Monday soon after the apex court made its verdict. "Once the Hon'ble Supreme Court has declared the law, we are obliged to accept it. However, it is necessary to point out that the majority has not upheld the wisdom of the decision; nor has the majority concluded that the stated objectives were achieved," the senior Congress leader said in a tweet. "In fact the majority has steered clear of the question whether the objectives were achieved at all," he said. "We are happy that the minority judgement has pointed out the illegality and the irregularities in the demonetisation. It may be only a slap on the wrist of the government, but a welcome slap on the ..
Action cannot be struck down on the basis of the doctrine of proportionality, says Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce its judgment on Monday on a batch of pleas challenging the government's 2016 decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denominations. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer, who will retire on January 4, is likely to pronounce its verdict on the matter on January 2, when the top court will reopen after its winter break. According to Monday's cause list of the top court, there will be two separate judgements in the matter, which will be pronounced by Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna. It is not clear whether the two judgements will be concurring or dissenting. Besides Justices Nazeer, Gavai and Nagarathna, the other members of the five-judge bench are Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian. The top court had, on December 7, directed the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to put on record the relevant records relating to the government's 2016 decision and reserved its verdict. It hea
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce its judgment on January 2 on a batch of pleas challenging the government's 2016 decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denominations. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer, who will retire on January 4, is likely to pronounce its verdict on the matter on the said date. The top court had, on December 7, directed the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to put on record the relevant records relating to the government's 2016 decision and reserved its verdict. The bench, also comprising justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian and B V Nagarathna, had heard the submissions of Attorney General R Venkataramani, the RBI's counsel and the petitioners' lawyers, including senior advocates P Chidambaram and Shyam Divan. Calling the scrapping of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes deeply flawed, Chidambaram had argued that the government cannot on its own initiate any proposal relating to
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday criticised the government's November 2016 decision to demonetise high-value currency notes, claiming the move did not meet the desired goals as cash in circulation and fake currency have gone up. The comment made in the Lok Sabha was vehemently countered by the BJP's Nishikant Dubey who said the Reserve Bank of India took the "big step" to eliminate corruption and terror financing which were "rampant" under the Congress rule. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Chowdhury said cash in circulation increased from Rs 18 lakh crore in 2016 to Rs 31 lakh crore currently. Also, fake currency and deposits in Swiss banks have increased, he claimed. "The health of the economy is in a bad shape because of demonetisation. Demonetisation was launched with the objective of bringing back black money and stopping fake currency and terrorism. But none of the objectives of demonetisation has been fulfilled," Chowdhury said. Dubey