The Supreme Court on Thursday declined urgent hearing of an appeal against the Delhi High Court order which dismissed a plea challenging the RBI’s decision permitting citizens to exchange Rs 2000 banknotes without any requisition slip and ID proof, as reported by ANI. The Rs 2,000 currency notes were being pulled out of circulation by the central bank.
The vacation bench of the apex court comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice KV Viswanathan rejected the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay challenging the RBI and State Bank of India's (SBI) notifications that permit exchange of Rs 2000 bank notes without furnishing any identity proof.
Earlier on Monday, the Delhi High Court dismissed a PIL challenging the RBI and SBI notifications, which permits the exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes without obtaining any requisition slip and identity proof.
Last month, the RBI through a notification advised all banks to stop issuing Rs 2000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect. However, the banknotes in Rs 2000 denomination will continue to be legal tender.
In a statement, the RBI on Friday said, "The Rs 2000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of RBI Act, 1934, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes in circulation at that time. The objective of introducing Rs 2000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, printing of Rs 2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19. In pursuance of the 'Clean Note Policy' of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation. The banknotes in Rs 2000 denomination will continue to be legal tender.”