Supreme Court Refuses To Stay Government's Demonetisation Call, Asks To Ease The Sufferings Of Common Man

The long-awaited opinion of the Supreme Court of India regarding demonetisation is out. On Tuesday, it directed the Central government to take necessary steps to ensure that common man is not burdened by the decision of scrapping Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

The bench said, “discontinuing of higher denomination notes appears to be carpet bombing and not surgical strike.”

The court was hearing a number of petitions demanding the roll back of the government’s decision. The government has been asked to file an affidavit to justify its notification and the steps it has taken to ensure people have enough liquidity.

The court has said that it will first examine the legal validity of the notification and then take a decision. It also said that not everyone who had Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes “can be painted as a black money holder.”

Here are the key takeaways:

• The judges said that they will not interfere in the economic policies of the government but want to examine the scope of section 26 of RBI Act which permits demonetisation. The bench would try to mitigate the sufferings of the common man.
• The bench asked the government to consider raising the limit to the amount of money that can be withdrawn by people for now.
• The old notes have been replaced with refurbished 500 rupee notes and new 2,000-rupee notes, which are currently in short supply.
• Economics Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das addressed the media on Tuesday and said banks will be using indelible ink to track unscrupulous people who are making multiple visits to the bank counters.
• The sudden move, while praised as a big reform, has caused huge disruption to daily life, especially for poor people who live in the cash economy.