Supreme Court Live Updates : Challenge Against Demonetisation

Chidambaram refers to the Hindi saying "khoda paahar nikli chuhiya".

Justice VR: I don't understand Hindi.

Chidambaram: Neither can I.

Chidambaram: RBI detected 47 crores of fake currency, which they then destroyed. But the person who had the note profited by passing it off. It is unexchangeable, not untradeable. The rest of the fake currency remains undetected.

Justice Ramasubramanian: Curtain was drawn on fake currency. The counterfeit notes could not be brought to be exchanged, to that extent, was it not tackled? Since they could not be passed off?

Chidambaram summarises: RBI recommendation was flawed because relevant factors were not considered and irrelevant factors not eschewed. Govt cannot set out false objectives which were anyway not achieved to justify such a notification. 

Chidambaram summarises: S 26(2) does not allow demonetisation of all series. If not read down, it confers unguided power & liable to be struck down u/A 14 & 19. Decision-making process was deeply flawed. Roles of RBI and govt reversed.

Bench reassembles.

Senior Advocate and four-time Finance Minister P Chidambaram to resume his submissions against the 2016 demonetisation policy. 

Chidambaram: They have not shown it to the Parliament. They have not placed it in the public domain. At least the Supreme Court should view these docs...This is the highest court of the land.

The court is adjourned for lunch.

Chidambaram: The three docs (govt's letter to RBI, agenda paper, RBI recommendations) must be called for at some stage...Nothing was considered acc to me. Let them satisfy this Court that all relevant factors were considered.

Chidambaram: Govt 'advised' the RBI, when the latter is the monetary authority. It was not even a request.

Justice Nazeer: It should be the other way round...

Chidambaram: Did they apply their minds? Was this a decision taken rationally? Let us see the documents then.