DR.SREEKUMARAN NAIR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners in this writ petition are non-resident Indians. Each of them had with them currency notes demonetised by the Government of India of value not exceeding Rs.25,000/-. As they were not in India during the period during which they should have claimed the value of said currency notes, they were later permitted to claim the value of the demonetised currency notes till 30.06.2017 from the designated offices of the Reserve Bank of India at Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Nagpur and Chennai. The case set out by the petitioners in the writ petition is that the value of the demonetised currencies in their possession being less than Rs.25,000/-, it is not practical to go to the designated offices of the Reserve Bank which are situated far off from the State of Kerala. Petitioners, therefore, seek orders directing the Reserve Bank of India to make alternative arrangements to enable them to claim the value of the demonetised currencies in their possession.

(2.) At the time of admission, this court passed an interim order permitting the petitioners to surrender the demonetised currencies in their possession before the Ernakulam office of the Reserve Bank of India, and directing the Ernakulam office of the Reserve Bank of India to keep the same subject to further orders. The petitioners have accordingly surrendered the demonetised currency notes at the Ernakulam office of the Reserve Bank of India and the same are retained in that office.

(3.) When the matter was taken up for hearing, the learned Senior Counsel for the Reserve Bank of India pointed out that the Apex court has interdicted entertainment of writ petitions of this nature, in terms of the order passed on 16.12.2016 in W.P.(C) No.906 of 2016 and connected cases.