Demonetization challenge: Supreme Court to pronounce verdict on January 2, 2023
The top court, which is currently closed for the winter vacations, will reopen on January 2, when the constitution bench is expected to pronounce its verdict.
A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is slated to pronounce on January 2, 2023 its verdict on the petitions filed against the government’s decision to ban currency notes of ₹500 and ₹1000.
On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi through a televised address declared that denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 would no longer be legal tender.
The pleas challenging the demonetisation decision were filed way back in 2016 and sought quashing of the government’s decision to demonetise Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes on grounds that it infringed on citizens’ right to life and to trade.
In 2016, the Supreme Court had transferred all petitions pending before various High Courts to itself and had referred the matter to a 5-judge Constitution Bench.
The matters were not taken up since then however, this year they had been finally listed by Chief Justice of India UU Lalit.
On October 12, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had agreed to hear the challenge to demonetisation and the implementation of the same in November 2016.
Justice Nazeer had thus directed the Centre and RBI to file comprehensive affidavits in the matter.
The five-judge bench, comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer, BR Gavai, AS Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian, and BV Nagarathna, had earlier questioned if the present matter had become academic or if it should be heard.
Case Title: Vivek Narayan Sharma vs. Union of India