Supreme Court’s decision on demonetization

There will be two judgements, one by Justice B R Gavai and the other by Justice B V Nagarathna, according to the cause-list of the Supreme Court, which is the list of business for the court. Whether they are dissenting or agreeing opinions is still up in the air.

The Supreme Court will announce its ruling on a group of petitions contesting the government’s decision to demonetize the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes in November 2016 on Monday, the first day following its winter break.

There will be two judgements, one by Justice B R Gavai and the other by Justice B V Nagarathna, according to the cause-list of the Supreme Court, which is the list of business for the court. Whether they are dissenting or agreeing opinions is still up in the air.

After hearing thorough arguments from the petitioners, the Center, and the Reserve Bank of India on December 7, a five-judge constitution bench chaired by Justice S Abdul Nazeer reserved the decision (RBI).

The government and the RBI were requested by the panel, which also included Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, to disclose any documents related to the decision-making process that resulted in the November 8, 2016 announcement.

The Supreme Court originally questioned whether it had not become little more than an intellectual dispute given the passage of time when it took up the batch of 58 petitions contesting various portions of the government’s noteban judgement. It then made the decision to investigate the matter, with the petitioners arguing that the process outlined in Section 26(2) of the RBI Act of 1934 was disregarded.