SC POSER TO RBI ON OLD NOTES
New Delhi, July 4: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India two weeks to consider the option of granting a window to those who could not deposit their demonetised `500 and `1,000 currency notes for a compelling reason. The Centre had on November 8 last scrapped high-value notes.
New Delhi, July 4: Rekindling hopes, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the government and the RBI to consider granting a window to those who have not been able to exchange scrapped `500 and `1,000 notes for genuine reasons, saying people should not lose their own money for no fault of theirs.
“You (Centre) cannot be allowed to deprive a person of his money if he couldn’t deposit due to some genuine problems. Consider giving a window to a genuine problem. What if someone is terminally ill and couldn't deposit the money,” a bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud asked.
The bench ignited the hope among such people for opening up of such a window to exchange demonetised currency for those who could not do so by December 30, 2016 or by March 31.
“There can be a situation where a person has lost his/her money for no fault. Suppose a person was in jail during the period... We want to know as to why you chose to bar such persons,” the court said. Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Centre, initially said the policy was not individual-centric and later sought time to take instruction on the issue as to whether an opportunity can be given to those who could not deposit the money due to valid reasons. — PTI
THE BENCH said if there is a person who has “valid reasons” for not depositing the notes, then he should be given an opportunity to explain as to why he failed to deposit the money and “he must be given a window”.