Ease cash crunch, help coop banks: SC

R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, December 9

The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to ensure that banks let account holders withdraw the maximum weekly limit of Rs 24,000 each and address the problems of district cooperative banks barred from accepting the demonetised notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur gave the instructions when PIL petitioners against demonetisation pleaded that most of the banks were not letting their clients to take out Rs 24,000 citing inadequate cash while account holders in district cooperative banks did not know what to do with the invalidated cash. All the banks should be in a position to meet the withdrawal cap set by the Centre, it said.

The Bench slated the next hearing for December 14. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said the government had taken a conscious decision to keep district cooperative banks away from mopping up the demonetised currency as they were not equipped to detect fake notes and did not maintain “know your customer” (KYC) details.

The account holders were cooperative societies which in turn had members. The societies collected money from their members and deposited in such banks. In the absence of KYC, the management was not in a position to pump black money into the banking system, he said. 

Appearing for some of the PIL petitioners, senior counsel P Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal disputed Rohatgi’s contention. The KYC norms were being met to the extent of over 95 per cent, they pleaded.

The Bench asked the government to address all the problems without diluting the avowed purpose of dealing with black money, terror funds and fake currency. 

It said it was ready to set up a Constitution Bench to hear the PILs after framing issues that would include the validity of demonetisation, people’s hardship, cooperative banks and restrictions on withdrawals affecting normal life. 

Rohatgi said the issues should include the judiciary’s power to interfere in policy matters and the logic behind  parties filing PILs instead of dealing with it in Parliament.

Biggest seizure: Rs 142 crore in cash, gold in Chennai

Chennai: In the biggest seizure of cash and gold post-demonetisation, the I-T Department on Friday said it had seized unaccounted assets worth over Rs 142 crore, including Rs 10 crore in new notes, and gold bars weighing 127 kg, during raids on eight premises of a group engaged in sand mining in Tamil Nadu on Thursday. “During the search, Rs 96.89 crore cash in old notes, Rs 9.63 crore in new Rs 2,000 notes and gold worth Rs 36.29 crore were found and seized,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement issued in Delhi. PTI

Rs 100 crore in 44 Axis Bank fake accounts

New Delhi: The Income-Tax Department has unearthed 44 fake accounts during a raid on an Axis Bank branch in central Delhi’s Chandni Chowk area. Around Rs 100 crore in old notes were deposited since November 8. The accounts were created using forged papers. “We suspect the money was routed to buy gold,” said an official. The bank said strict action would be taken. IANS

Rlys, buses won’t accept old Rs 500

New Delhi: Making a U-turn within a few hours, the government on Friday advanced by a day the last date for using the old Rs 500 notes to purchase tickets for travel by train, government or public sector undertaking-run buses and commuting on suburban and Metro rail services. Effective December 9 midnight, old Rs 500 notes can no longer be used for these services. TNS

Now, govt to print plastic notes

New Delhi: The government has decided to print plastic currency notes and the procurement of material has already begun, said Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal in reply to a query in the Lok Sabha on Reserve Bank of India’s move to print plastic currency notes in place of paper ones. In 2014, the government had informed Parliament that one billion plastic notes of Rs 10 denomination would be introduced in a field trial in five cities — Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhubaneswar. Plastic notes have an average life span of five years and are difficult to imitate. TNS