New Delhi: The Supreme Court has given its verdict on demonetisation. The court declared the 2016 demonetisation to be valid. In addition, the court dismissed all 58 petitions. This decision was taken by 4 judges.
The Supreme Court said that no error was found in the notification dated November 8, 2016. Notes of all series are withdrawable.
The Supreme Court said that there was no deficiency defect in the procedure followed while taking the demonetisation decision and therefore there was no need to set aside the notification.
The court also said that the RBI does not have the discretionary power to change the withdrawal date of demonetised notes. At the same time, the court said that the central government can take such a decision only on the recommendation of the RBI. Regarding the objective of demonetisation, Justice Gavai said that it is not important whether the objective is fulfilled or not.
Judges have also said that courts can intervene in economic policy. The discussions between the Center and the RBI lasted for six months, so the decision-making process cannot be falsified. The Supreme Court said that as many people are facing difficulties, it needs to be seen that steps have been taken.
Justice BV Nagarathna’s view on ‘Note Bandi’ is different. He said, “Demonetisation of all series notes at the behest of the central government is a more important issue than demonetisation of banks. So it should be done first through executive notification and then through legislation.” He further said that the demonetisation proposal under Article 26(2) will come from the Central Board of RBI.