List steps to help people: SC

CASH CHAOS Says Centre should ease the sufferings in rural areas where people are dependent on co-op banks

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to spell out measures taken to ease the sufferings and inconvenience of people in rural areas, who are mostly dependent on co-operative banks, post-demonetisation.

A bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice DY Chandrachud, while hearing a batch of pleas challenging various aspects of demonetisation, said all the parties should sit together and prepare a list of categories of cases which could be referred to high courts and those that could be heard by the apex court.

Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, said: “Entire chapter in the additional affidavit filed by the Centre is dedicated to the issue of co-operative banks. It is not that we are not aware of the situation but these (the cooperative banks) lack proper facilities, mechanism and proper infrastructure as compared to scheduled banks,” he said.

He said that the government has deliberately kept co-operative banks out of the drive as these did not have the expertise to detect fake currency.

Rohatgi said, “Several cases are filed in various high courts on various aspects post-demonetisation and it is not possible to deal with cases simultaneously in Kerala, Kolkata, Jaipur and Mumbai... All these should be clubbed together and be referred to any one high court or the apex court.”

Senior advocate P Chidambaram, appearing for cooperative banks, questioned the government’s decision, saying that the rural economy is almost paralysed due to non-inclusion of co-operative banks.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the petitioners, suggested that they will sit together and file the list of categories by Monday.

The bench then posted the hearing on the matter to December 5.