New Delhi: Hearing on a batch of petitions filed against demonetization, the Supreme Court of India has on Tuesday refused to stay the Central government’s decision. The apex court has instead directed the government to file an affidavit, detailing the steps taken by it to tackle inconvenience caused due to demonetization.
The bench comprising Justices T S Thakur and D Y Chandrachud said, “We are not willing to grant a stay on the government’s order. However, it is the duty of the government to make sure that the common people will not suffer because of demonetization”. The bench made the above comments while hearing on the petitions filed by various organizations against the government for causing inconvenience to public.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing one of the petitions said, “The court must consider the inconvenience caused to the public. The government has banned 86% of currency in circulation. It should also answer on how will the common people survive with this move. The decision lacks preparation as the majority of ATMs are still unfunctional across the country. I will accept the court’s decision for not staying the order. But, I request the bench to make sure that the government will not stress the public beyond the permissible limits”.
Noting advocate Kapil Sibal’s request, the Supreme court bench has directed Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi to file an affidavit detailing the steps taken by the government to decrease pressure on public. The court also directed the central government to provide exemptions for emergency services until the process of demonetization gets to a normal state.
Earlier, responding to the petitions filed by various organizations and private members, Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi said, “According to the government’s estimates, the black money in Indian households amounts to Rs 15-16 lakh crores. It is expected that citizens will deposit Rs 10-11 lakh crores in banks. The rest Rs 4-6 lakh crores is the money which is being used to fund attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeastern states. The government intends to neutralize such terrorist and anti-social activities by demonetization”.
“We will also be looking to bring out the black money stashed in houses”, he added.