New Delhi, July 4: In yet another serious observation on the government’s demonetisation deadline that prevented people from exchanging their old notes after December 30, the Supreme Court Tuesday granted the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India two weeks to consider the option of granting a window to those who could not deposit their demonetised `500 and `1,000 currency notes for a compelling reason.
A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud asked Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, representing the Centre, to take instructions on the issue.
“There can be a situation where a person has lost his/her money for no fault. Suppose a person was in jail during the period… We want to know as to why you chose to bar such persons,” the bench said.
The solicitor general then sought time to seek instructions for granting an opportunity to persons to deposit their money on a case-by-case basis.
The bench was hearing a batch of petitions, including one filed by Sudha Mishra seeking a direction to authorities to allow her to deposit demonetised notes, as she could not do so during the period specified by the Centre and the RBI.
The Central government had November 8 last year announced that `500 and `1,000 notes would no longer be legal tender from November 9. PTI
