NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court warned on Friday that people standing in long queues for hours every day for scarce cash could turn riotous, as it asked the Centre to take urgent measures to end their ordeal.
“It is a serious issue. This affects the entire population. You (the government) cannot deny there is a serious problem. There could be riots,” a bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice AR Dave said, drawing a sharp retort from attorney general Mukul Rohatgi.
The bench also declined the Centre’s plea to restrain all other courts and high courts from entertaining petitions challenging demonetisation and criticised the decision to bring down the maximum amount that could be converted against the outlawed notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,000.
The Centre argued that HCs taking up legal challenges would result in multiple litigations. The bench, however, said the pleas seeking the intervention of courts reflected the “distress”.
Rohatgi replied, “There is no riot. People have supported the government’s move to demonetise high value currency notes to flush out black money. There are political reasons that the issue is raised in this matter by the petitioners to fuel unrest.”
The bench also criticised the government for reducing the daily cash exchange limit to Rs 2,000, after the court had asked if the limit could be raised from Rs 4,500.
