Supreme Court had on Tuesday asked the government and the RBI to consider granting a window to those who have not been able to exchange scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes for genuine reasons, saying people should not lose their own money for no fault of theirs.
A file photo of demonetised Rs 500 currency notes. (Photo: Reuters)
A report in the Economic Times quoted those “familiar with the government’s thinking on the matter” as saying that opening another window to exchanging old notes may lead to “many abuses” of the facility.
The report quoted a senior official as saying, “…if a facility for exchanging old currency is opened, high-denomination notes outside the country will come back”.
Supreme Court had on Tuesday asked the government and the RBI to consider granting a window to those who have not been able to exchange scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes for genuine reasons, saying people should not lose their own money for no fault of theirs.
“Centre cannot be allowed to deprive a person of his money if he couldn’t deposit due to some genuine problems. Consider giving a window to a genuine problem. What if someone is terminally ill and couldn’t deposit the money,” a bench of Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud asked.
The bench ignited the hope among such people for opening up of such a window to exchange demonetised currency for those who could not do so by December 30, 2016 or by March 31 due to changes in conditions for depositing the scrapped notes in the banks.
The government is likely to reply on July 18, the next date of hearing.
Source: News18