TIA NEWS
Supreme Court on Friday asked the government to ease the situation, observing that if hardship continues “we may have riots”, “people have become frantic” as they are standing in queues for long hours.
“That only shows the magnitude of the problem. The problem is serious. You can’t shut them from coming to courts. People are frantic to get money. People are affected. We may have riots in the streets. Let them go (to the courts),” said a bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice Anil R. Dave as Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi urged the court to stay all such proceeding in High Courts and subordinate courts.
The court said that government could not dispute that people were suffering as bench said, “You can’t dispute that there is suffering and difficulty.”
However the Supreme Court refused to stay, for now, the petitions against demonetisation pending before different High Courts and subordinate courts as it cautioned that if hardship continues there may be riots.
At the outset of the hearing, the bench asked how it is that swapping of demonetized currency notes with the new one has been brought down from Rs. 4500 to Rs. 2000, even as it had asked the government to take steps to ease the hardship being faced by the people.
Adjourning the matter for November 25, the court asked the Attorney General to move transfer petitions, which the court will consider for transferring cases to Delhi.
The Centre had on November 8 demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes to what it said was curb black money and corruption.
Pointing that people were moving the courts because of they are suffering, the court observed, “We can’t shut them out from the court”.
“It is a serious matter, people should not suffer”, observed Chief Justice Thakur as Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the court that government was monitoring the situation “day after day, hour after hour”.
AG told the court that government had already issued directions for giving Rs. 50,000 to traders, farmers, Rs. 2.5 lakhs for weddings and so on.
As Attorney General gave the details of two lakh ATMs, 1.25 lakh bank branches, petrol pumps from where people could get money, senior counsel Kapil Sibal told the court that 75000 ATMs were not functional and a large number of them are not calibrated to dispense the new currency notes.
SBI has made arrangement by which petrol filling station run of the PSU oil marketing companies’ people can withdraw money through debit card, AG informed the court.
Appearing for one of the petitioners, Sibal said that currency worth 23 lakh crores is to be printed and currency worth 14 lakh crores have been demonetised and there is no replacement. He said currency worth nine lakh crores was in circulation.
Describing Sibal’s statement as politically inspired, Attorney General urged the court “to go and see, the queues have become shorter”.
As Sibal defended his position denying any political overtones, Attorney General retorted back saying “I have seen your press conference”. Sibal is one of the senior spokesmen of the Congress.
During the course of the hearing, the bench inquired as to why currency notes of Rs. 100 denomination were not being made available, Rothatgi told the court currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 denomination that have been demonetised forned 85% of the money in circulation.