SC: Look into plea on RBI exchange of currency notes

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the solicitor-general to look into a public interest suit seeking court-monitored probe into the alleged RBI exchange of currency notes worth Rs 30 crores that were defaced by a separatist group in J&K by stamping them with their slogan in August 2013.

A bench headed by the Chief Justice S.A. Bobde asked solicitor-general Tushar Mehta to take instructions from the government on the plea raised by the PIL petitioner Satish Bhardwaj, who told the court that he had sought information through RTI from the RBI and the CBI in 2013 itself but did not get any response or the reply was vague. He said the currency notes were exchanged at the Jammu branch of the RBI.

Directing the listing of the matter after two weeks, CJI Bobde directed the court registry to furnish a copy of the petition upon solicitor general Mehta appearing for the Centre.

“This is a matter of national interest,” CJI Bobde told Mr Mehta, making a distinction between the PIL before it and the cases being heard by a bench headed by Justice N.V. Ramana.

As court asked if it sh-ould issue formal notice in the PIL before it, Mr Mehta said that he would first like to look into the allegations made by the PIL petitioner.