The Delhi High Court today refused to pass any interim order on a PIL seeking a direction to the Centre to remove the cap on daily withdrawal of money deposited by the public in banks before demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice V K Rao declined immediate relief to the petitioner, a businessman, on the ground that the Supreme Court is seized of the issue.
It further said that it was not aware of the proceedings before the apex court and, therefore, the petitioner should produce the copy of the order by November 25.
"Let it (the order as well as the matter) come up on Friday (November 25). Then we will decide what to do and what not to do," the bench said.
The bench's oral observations were made during a brief hearing of a plea by Ashok Sharma, who, through his counsel A Maitri, urged the court for an interim relief on the ground that the Centre's decision to put a cap on weekly withdrawal of Rs 24,000 is "affecting right to livelihood" of the people at large.
The counsel also told the judges that as the apex court has declined to withhold the petitions against demonetisation in different high courts, this court should give some interim order as the government may tomorrow again come out with new directives on withdrawal.
To this, the bench responded since it is not aware of the proceedings in the Supreme Court, it will wait for the copy of order.
The petitioner, a resident of Delhi, has urged the court to quash clause 2 (VI) of the notification by which conditions were imposed on withdrawal of money from bank accounts.
"A reading of the notification shows that Clause 2 (vi) was intended for cash deposits, which were to be tendered between November 9 and December 30. This clause as well as the notification has no connection with the bank deposits, which were made prior to November 8," the plea said.
"On account of the notification, there is no normal banking transaction available, so the petitioner has been unable to carry out his business and Clause 2 (vi) of the notification has affected his right to livelihood," Sharma's lawyer submitted.
Under the earlier clause 2 (vi), the weekly withdrawal
limit from the banks was Rs 20,000, while the daily limit was Rs 10,000. Later, the weekly limit was increased to Rs 24,000 and the daily limit was scrapped. From the ATMs, the daily limit is Rs 2,000.
The plea said the government's action was "arbitrary and unconstitutional" as it is "trying to overreach the Act".
It said that under Banking Regulation Act, deposits with banks are "payable on demand" and under no circumstances could the government have imposed such conditions on normal banking transactions (bank deposits) which were with the bank on November 8".
The high court had yesterday taken up three separate petitions questioning the Centre's decision to impose a cap of Rs 24,000 a week on withdrawal and allowing the use of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes in hospitals and petrol pumps while seeking a direction to ensure sufficient cash in ATMs.
The court had decided to wait for today's hearing in the Supreme Court on the Centre's plea seeking transfer of all cases from across the country on demonetisation to the apex court or one of the high courts.
The three petitions, including that of Sharma, were filed in the HC after the apex court on last Friday had declined the Centre's plea to stop high courts and courts across country from entertaining the matters relating to challenge to November 8 notification demonetising the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.
