Delhi HC rejects PIL against RBI's withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes
A public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision to withdraw 2,000 banknotes from circulation was dismissed by the Delhi High Court on Monday.
The Reserve Bank of India announced the withdrawal of 2,000 currency notes from circulation on May 19.
Banks have been ordered by the central bank to provide deposit and exchange services for 2,000 notes until September 30, 2023.
"Dismissed," a bench of chief justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad stated, dismissing the PIL on which it reserved its decision on May 30 after hearing arguments from counsel for the petitioner and the RBI.
Petitioner Rajneesh Bhaskar Gupta stated in his plea that the RBI has no power to withdraw 2,000-rupee currency notes from circulation and that only the Centre could have made such a decision.
According to the petition, RBI has no independent power under the Reserve Bank of India Act to take such a decision.
It further claims that the decision to withdraw the currency after only 4-5 years of circulation within a defined time frame is "unjust, arbitrary, and against public policy."
The PIL claims that the impugned circular does not mention that the central government made the decision and that the RBI has given no other reason other than the 'Clean Note Policy' to take such a "big arbitrary decision" on the withdrawal of banknotes from circulation "without analysing the expected problems of the public at large."
According to the petitioner, small vendors and shops have already stopped taking 2,000 notes.
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- With inputs from agencies
