Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners who have questioned the legality of demonetisation, seized upon the bench’s remark about riots to criticise the Centre. “The government just did not have the capacity to print new currency notes. They should have taken this into account and taken steps to avoid putting people into untold harassment,” he said.
“Daily labourers are not getting paid, tea garden workers are not getting their salaries, people in rural areas have to walk long distances to reach banks and ATMs only to be told that these have run out of cash. It is a serious situation. Transporters are suffering. Trucks are standing idle without cash. India is a cash-based economy and the government has hurt it badly by freezing cash circulation,” senior advocate Kapil Sibal said in the Supreme Court on Friday. He was appearing for petitioners who have questioned the legality of demonetisation.
