The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the cases in High Courts against the demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur said the petitions in the various High Courts highlighted the different inconveniences across the country. “Maybe some relief can be had by these people.”
Earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to “shut its door” on the “frantic and affected” public. The court also allowed the co-operative banks to approach their respective High Courts with their grievances.
The government maintained that the demonetisation policy, an exercise intended to weed out black money and cripple terror funding, was a success.
“What is the situation now? How much have you collected so far,” Chief Justice Thakur asked.
Mr. Rohatgi responded that the situation was “much better” and more than Rs. 6 lakh crore had been deposited in banks since the demonetisation was announced on November 8.
He said queues in front of banks and ATMs had thinned and the situation would become normal in the next 20 days.
The court wanted to know about the farmers’ plight. ''Were they able to buy seeds?''
Mr. Rohatgi said alternative arrangements had been made and a special committee constituted to monitor the situation.
The apex court issued notice to the petitioners on the Centre’s plea to transfer all the demonetisation cases in other courts either to the Supreme Court or an High Court and not have it spread in courts across the country. It will have a hearing on this aspect on December 2.
