The Supreme Court has recently rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) petition that claimed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had exchanged currency notes amounting to ₹30 crores that had been defaced by a Kashmiri separatist group in 2013.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh dismissed the plea, which called for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the issue. The Court was informed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that the petitioner, Satish Bhardwaj, had failed to disclose his dismissal from the RBI.
The Court highlighted that the omission of such crucial information, particularly the petitioner’s dismissal, weakened the credibility of the public interest litigation.
"We are not inclined to entertain this writ petition purportedly filed in public interest. The same is, accordingly, dismissed. However, the issue, if so required to be adjudicated, shall be gone into an appropriate case," the Court said in its January 10 order.
Satish Bhardwaj, the petitioner, approached the Supreme Court in 2019, alleging that in 2013, a Kashmiri separatist group had issued a statement on social media claiming responsibility for defacing Indian currency notes worth approximately ₹30 crores by stamping separatist slogans over a period of four months. Bhardwaj argued that these notes had been exchanged by the Jammu Regional Branch of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), violating the RBI Act and the RBI (Note Refund) Rules, 2009.
In 2020, the Supreme Court acknowledged the sensitivity of the case and sought a status report. However, after Bhardwaj revealed that he was a dismissed employee of the RBI, the Court deemed it inappropriate to continue with the PIL. Consequently, the Court dismissed the plea, noting that the issues raised could be addressed in a more suitable case.
The petitioner appeared in person.
Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj and Advocates Ramesh Babu M, Ridhi Bose, Rishi Agarwal, Sampriti Baksi, Mukesh Kumar Maroria, Shraddha Deshmukh, Vatsal Joshi, Sharath Nambiar, Chitvan Singhal, Neelakshi Bhadauria and Sabrish Subramanian, advocates appeared for the respondent-authorities.
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