Woman asks Supreme Court to allow exchange of old notes found in dead father's locker


New Delhi, Apr 12 (India Today) : The queue before the Supreme Court seeking an extension of window for deposit of demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 is getting longer by the day.

But a new plea filed on Tuesday is one on unique grounds. A Faridabad-based couple has approached the apex court seeking a special permission to deposit Rs 83,000 in old notes as they could not do it before the December 30, 2016 deadline as they were found in bank locker of her deceased father.

Caught in a legal dispute with her sister, Savita said she could open the locker only after a court order on March 6. This was after Nidhi Gupta, Savita's sister relinquished her share in her father's estate.

But the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that if it decides to grant relief for extension of the window for exchanging scrapped notes, it will be not in individual cases but for the general public.

"If there has to be a window (extension for depositing demonetised notes) then all of you (petitioners and others) have to be considered," a bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justices D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul said.

'DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT NOTES'

The Guptas say they had no knowledge about the existence of these old currency notes in the locker. Savita's father had passed away before November 8, 2016, the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation.

Hence, there was no occasion for even the father to tell her that there was money in the locker.

The government had brought in an ordinance on December 30 last year that barred all citizens apart from those who were abroad for the duration between November 8, 2016, and December 30, 2016, from depositing demonetised notes in the Reserve Bank of India.

Savita's plea filed through advocate Dhruv Gautam said: "Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction to quash and set aside the Ordinance dated December 30, 2016. Issue an appropriate writ, direction or order including the Writ of Mandamus directing to allow the petitioner to deposit the demonetised currency notes that were discovered in the safety locker of the petitioner's deceased father."

The bench has agreed to hear the plea soon. Savita said she visited the RBI office on March 21 and showed the certified copy of the court order to the designated staff. But the official refused to deposit the old notes.

The Modi government, meanwhile, informed the SC earlier that there is no need to open the window allowing all categories of people to deposit old notes under some special circumstances.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, referred to the recent affidavit and said that reasons as to why we do not want to open the window.

"I am bound by the court's order... There cannot be a separate window (to deposit notes) for individuals. If the court allows and grants the window (relief) then it has to be for all," he said.

  

Top Stories


Leave a Comment

Title: Woman asks Supreme Court to allow exchange of old notes found in dead father's locker



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.