NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court today adjourned indefinitely the hearing on pleas challenging the Narendra Modi government’s demonetization move after it was informed that the Supreme Court has stayed all proceedings pending before different courts on related issues.
“The Supreme Court is seized of the issue and has also stayed the proceedings on pleas challenging the November 8 demonetization notification pending before different high courts (in India) and has said only they would hear them,” a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal said.
The bench further said since the petitioners were not withdrawing their petitions as per Supreme Court directive, the “case is adjourned sine die”.
Sine die refers to business or proceedings that have been adjourned with no appointed date for resumption.
The apex court had on December 16, said no other courts in the country shall entertain any writ petitions relating to the demonetization issues.
The direction came on the pleas challenging the November 8 decision to demonetize high-value currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 and also the petition filed by Centre for transfer of matters pending before various high courts to either the apex court or one of the high courts.
“We make it clear that the petitioners in the high courts are free to intervene in the Supreme Court,” the apex court bench had said.
The high court was hearing two separate pleas, one of which has sought discontinuation of the new Rs 2,000 currency note while the other petition has sought a direction to the Centre to ensure that all the ATMs are dispensing cash and people do not suffer.
One of the petitioners, Pooja Mahajan, who runs a designer showroom, has questioned the government allowing certain public utilities including hospitals and petrol pumps to use old notes.
In her plea, she has also claimed that the government has taken a dual stand as on the one hand it was encouraging people to deposit old notes in bank accounts and on the other hand, it was threatening them of prosecution for depositing over Rs 2.5 lakh.
Another petition, filed by Birender Sangwan, sought direction to the government to ensure that all the ATMs are dispensing cash.–PTI
