High Court Allows Exchange of Demonetized Notes After 10 Years Nagpur: Nearly a decade after the demonetization policy was implemented, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday ruled that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) must accept and exchange demonetized currency worth Rs 2 lakh seized from an Akola trader in 2016. The court emphasized that citizens cannot be penalized for delays caused by authorities, granting relief to the petitioner who had been denied access to the funds due to procedural complications. The case centered on Girish Malani, an Akola-based businessman, whose Rs 2 lakh in Rs 500 notes was seized by police in December 2016 during a municipal election check near Mahur. The notes were later verified as legitimate by the Income Tax Department and returned to Malani on December 31, 2016—just one day after the statutory deadline for depositing demonetized currency. Malani attempted to exchange the notes with RBI in January 2017 but was denied, as the bank cited non-compliance with the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017, and its associated rules. The high court’s division bench, comprising Justices Urmila Joshi Phalke and Nivedita Mehta, rejected a rigid interpretation of the rules, stating that Malani had been deprived of the opportunity to comply due to the authorities’ actions. The court noted that while the statutory framework restricts the acceptance of demonetized notes, exceptions must be made in genuine cases where compliance became impossible. It highlighted that Malani had submitted the serial numbers of the seized notes through an affidavit, fulfilling a key procedural requirement. The bench also referenced earlier rulings in similar cases, asserting that relief cannot be denied when currency remains in official custody beyond the deadline.#nagpur #reserve_bank_of_india #bombay_high_court #akola #girish_malani
