NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday fired a series of sharp and critical questions about demonetisation at the Centre, asking if it had a plan at all or took a decision “just like that” when it scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8.
Responding to attorney general Mukul Rohatgi’s submission that the Centre’s expectation that scrapped currency worth Rs 10-11 lakh crore would come back had been exceeded, the court caustically asked, “Can you put what you had estimated when you took the decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes? Did you make any estimation at all? Was there a plan? Or, did you take the decision just like that? If you had thought notes worth Rs 10 lakh crore would come back to the banks, did you take steps to urgently put in that much of new currency back in circulation? Can you produce the Cabinet note before the decision was taken?”
The court’s comments came as the Centre said deposits of old notes had touched Rs 12 lakh crore till date but resisted the SC’s attempts to tweak the withdrawal limit to provide relief for harassed citizens by asking, “Can you tinker with fiscal policy?”
