Need to highlight minority verdict in SC judgment on demonetisation: CPI

Hyderabad, Jan 2 (PTI) CPI General Secretary D Raja on Monday said citizens should give due consideration to the “dissent judgment” in the Supreme Court’s verdict on demonetisation, as it has questioned certain basic issues over the policy decision.

Parliament was not given the opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of the demonetisation policy when it was announced “surprisingly” and “suddenly” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi back in 2016, he told reporters here.

“The majority upheld the demonetisation but a dissent has been recorded. The dissent judgment has questioned certain basic issues and our citizens need to give due consideration to the dissent judgment also. Why I am saying this? Parliament is supreme in our democracy,” the former Rajya Sabha member said.

“When the demonetisation policy was announced by Prime Minister, surprisingly, suddenly, midnight, Parliament was not consulted. Parliament was not given the opportunity to discuss its pros and cons,” the Communist leader added.

Claiming that nothing could be achieved on the objectives for demonetisation as stated by the Prime Minister, he wondered as to what happened with regard to bringing back black money, counterfeit currency and terror funding.

The government has not said anything in Parliament and it is not ready to place a White Paper explaining everything in Parliament, he said.

Demonetisation has proved to be “horrific” for the common people, he added.

Even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which is an independent body to manage the monetary system of the country, was “not given the authority to decide upon the policy”, he alleged.

The Prime Minister decided and he imposed it on RBI to implement these policies, the CPI leader claimed.

The Supreme Court in a 4:1 majority verdict on Monday upheld the Centre’s 2016 decision to demonetise the Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination notes, saying the decision-making process was not flawed.

Observing that the decision being the executive’s economic policy cannot be reversed, a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer said there has to be great restraint in matters of economic policy and the court cannot supplant the wisdom of the executive by a judicial review of its decision.

Justice B V Nagarathna dissented from the majority judgment on the point of the Centre’s powers under the RBI Act, and said the scrapping of high-value currency notes had to be done through legislation and not through a notification.