SC may agree to club all pleas against demonetisation
17 Nov 2016
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear on Friday a fresh plea by the Union government seeking a stay on the proceedings before various high courts and other courts except the apex court against its November 8 decision to demonetise high denomination currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
A bench comprising justices A R Dave and A M Khanwilkar agreed to the contention of attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre that proceedings in various courts on the issue will create a lot of confusion.
The bench said the matter will be heard by another bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur which is hearing a batch of Public Interest Litigations against the Centre's demonetisation move.
The apex court on 15 November had refused to stay the government's demonetisation notification but asked it to spell out the steps taken to minimise public inconvenience.
Out of the four PILs in the apex Court on the demonetisation issue, two were filed by Delhi-based lawyers Vivek Narayan Sharma and Sangam Lal Pandey, while the other two were filed by individuals, S Muthukumar and Adil Alvi.
The petitioners had alleged that the sudden decision has created chaos and harassment to public at large and the notification by the department of economic affairs in the ministry of finance be either quashed or deferred for some time.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised address to the nation, had declared that notes of Rs500 and Rs1,000 will no longer be legal tender from the midnight of 8 November midnight. He had said the government has declared a "decisive war" against black money and corruption.
