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Constitutional LawSupreme Court of India

Vivek Narayan Sharma v. Union of India

Writ Petition (Civil) · Neutral citation not assigned (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 906 of 2016)Decided 16 Dec 2016
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 906 of 2016
Chief Justice T.S. Thakur · Justice A.M. Khanwilkar · Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud

Background

This is a referral order, not a final judgment. A batch of petitions challenged the Union Government's demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes on 8 November 2016. The challenge raised whether the notification was beyond the RBI Act, whether it violated Articles 14, 19, 21 and 300A, and how far courts can review economic policy.

Decision Breakdown

This is a referral order, not a final judgment. The Court framed nine constitutional questions and directed that the matters be placed before a larger Bench of five Judges for an authoritative pronouncement. On the exclusion of District Cooperative Banks from exchanging notes, the Rs. 24,000 weekly withdrawal limit and the exemption-period cut-off, it only made observations to the authorities and said no other direction could be given at that stage by way of interim relief. It also transferred all related High Court proceedings to itself and stayed further proceedings elsewhere.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on whether the demonetisation notification was constitutional. All nine questions were left for a five-judge Bench.

Vivek Narayan Sharma v. Union of India – Legal Case Shots | LegalAware