On Thursday, the Supreme Court refused an urgent hearing for a plea that challenges the notifications allowing the exchange of Rs 2,000 denomination currency notes without requiring a requisition slip or ID proof.
A vacation bench consisting of justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. V. Vishwanathan took note of the submissions for urgent hearing of lawyer Ashwini Updhyay, and said it will not be taking up such pleas during the summer vacation.
“We are not taking up these kinds of cases during the summer vacation,” the bench said, adding the plea can be mentioned before a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India.
Seeking urgent listing of the plea, the lawyer said the Rs 2000 banknotes are being exchanged without the requirement of a requisition slip or ID proof such as an Aadhaar card by criminals and terrorists also.
In a short span of time, Rs 50,000 crore have been exchanged in banks by returning banknotes of Rs 2000 denomination, he said, adding the delay in hearing would lead to exchange of all black money in banks.
Updhyay has lodged an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court's dismissal of his Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the notifications issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the State Bank of India (SBI) allowing exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes without having to furnish any document.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declared on May 19 its decision on the withdrawal Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation and RBI stated that existing notes in circulation can either deposited in bank accounts or exchanged by September 30.
The bank notes in Rs 2,000 denomination will, however, continue to be a legal tender, the RBI had said in a statement.
In order to ensure operational convenience and to avoid disruption of regular activities of bank branches, the RBI said exchange of Rs 2,000 notes into bank notes of other denominations can be made up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank starting from May 23.
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