SC to consider if pleas against demonetisation decision an 'academic exercise'

Mulling over whether the Centre’s 2016 demonetisation decision still relevant for consideration, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday (September 28) that it will first examine if the challenges to demonetisation has become a mere “academic exercise” and if it has to be heard at all.

The matter has been posted for consideration on October 12.

As the hearing commenced, a Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer pondered on whether this matter survives to be taken up at this stage. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appearing for the Centre, submitted that for all practical purposes the matter does not survive for consideration. However, he suggested that the case can be examined as an academic exercise.

“A five-judge bench for academic exercise when we are already burdened with such a large amount of pendency?” the court wondered.

“We will fix it for hearing on October 12. We will examine if it has become academic and if it can be heard at all, said the bench. Besides Justice S A Nazeer, the bench also comprised Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian, and B V Nagarathna.

Also read: Demonetisation and GST: A tale of two economic ‘mis’adventures

The top court was hearing a batch of 58 petitions challenging the Centre’s November 8, 2016 decision to demonetise currency notes of denomination of ₹500 and ₹1,000.

On December 16, 2016, a bench headed by the then Chief Justice TS Thakur had referred the question of the validity of the decision and other issues to a larger bench of five judges for authoritative pronouncement. It had framed various questions in the reference order to be adjudicated by the five-judge bench, which included whether the notification dated November 8, 2016 is ultra vires provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and does the notification contravene the provisions of Article 300 (A) of the Constitution.

The three-judge bench had then said assuming the 2016 notification was validly issued under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, whether it is ultra vires Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution.

“Whether the limit on withdrawal of cash from the funds deposited in bank accounts has no basis in law and violates Articles 14,19 and 21,” the bench had said.

It had said whether the implementation of the impugned notification(s) suffers from procedural and/or substantive unreasonableness and thereby violates Articles 14 and 19 and, if so, to what effect.

Articles 14, 19 and 21 relate to constitutional provisions of equality before law, freedom of speech and expression and right to protection of life and personal liberty.

The top court had framed various other questions and said keeping in view the “general public importance” and the “far-reaching implications” which the answers to the questions may have, “we consider it proper to direct that the matters be placed before the larger bench of five judges for an authoritative pronouncement”.