India’s top court ruled on Monday that the 2016 decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to withdraw high value notes from circulation was valid.
A five-judge bench heard a clutch of petitions challenging the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s decision to remove 500 rupee ($6) and 1,000 rupee notes in November 2016. This brought the country’s economy to a grinding halt.
The Supreme Court judges in New Delhi said the decision satisfied the test of proportionality.
This test is used by constitutional courts to make a judgment in cases where a government decision risks infringing people's rights while aiming to provide some wider public benefit.
The ruling by the bench — despite one justice terming it unlawful in her dissenting judgement — is a boost for Mr Modi's government, which had faced criticism for the move.
Mr Modi sparked nationwide panic when in a televised address he ordered the scrapping all high value notes overnight on November 8, 2016, saying they would be “just worthless pieces of paper”.
He had claimed the move was taken to curb black market earnings, fake currency, terror financing and tax evasion.
Over 86 per cent of the total currency — 15 trillion rupees — was removed from circulation overnight, creating a shortage of banknotes.
Millions queued outside ATMs and banks for days to withdraw cash, hundreds of thousands of people in casual work lost their jobs for weeks and several people reportedly died from exhaustion and stress.
The government said it was a “well-considered” decision.
But 58 petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the notes ban, arguing that it was unconstitutional as the government did not follow due procedure and that it should be struck down.
Petitioners argued that the government took the decision through an Executive order and that it was not initiated by the Reserve Bank of India Act.
Such as massive undertaking as the note withdrawal requires recommendation from the Reserve Bank of India — India's central bank and banking regulator, said petitioners.
They argued that the government had instead advised the bank.
The petitioners asked the court to review the documents to assess if the RBI had considered the impact of such an exercise which caused citizens “agony, loss and hardship”.
Four judges on Monday upheld the government’s decision on demonetisation, saying there was consultation between ministers and the RBI for months beforehand.
“From the record, it appears that there was a consultative process between central government and RBI for over six months before the decision was taken,” the top court said in its majority judgment written by Justice BR Gavai.
“We find that the three purposes are proper purposes and there was a reasonable nexus between the objects and the means to achieve the objects. Action cannot be struck down on the basis of the doctrine of proportionality,” the judgment read.
However, Justice BV Nagarathna — who is in line to be India’s first woman chief justice — disagreed, arguing that the Parliament of India should have been involved.
“Without Parliament a democracy cannot thrive, and so that meaning to democracy is given. Parliament cannot be left aloof on such important decisions,” she said.
The government argued that the court cannot decide a matter when no tangible relief can be granted. That would be like “unscrambling a scrambled egg”, it said.
Raavi Birbal, a Supreme Court advocate, said the verdict set an important precedent.
“Under the Indian legal system courts are generally slow in interfering with decisions of government unless those are unconstitutional, have lack of jurisdiction, contrary to powers, palpably discriminatory or arbitrary,” Ms Birbal told The National.
“Demonetisation is a policy matter of the government. Supreme Court has time and again held that courts cannot usurp wisdom of Executive with its own.
Constitution Bench’s decision on demonetisation has reaffirmed the legal position, thus making it another important precedent,” she said.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LAST 16
SEEDS
Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona, Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Valencia, Juventus
PLUS
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
A general guide to how active you are:
Less than 5,000 steps - sedentary
5,000 - 9,999 steps - lightly active
10,000 - 12,500 steps - active
12,500 - highly active
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Jetour T1 specs
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BIG SPENDERS
Premier League clubs spent £230 million (Dh1.15 billion) on January transfers, the second-highest total for the mid-season window, the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said in a report.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
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More on animal trafficking
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
The cost of Covid testing around the world
Egypt
Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists
Information can be found through VFS Global.
Jordan
Dh212
Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.
Cambodia
Dh478
Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.
Zanzibar
AED 295
Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.
Abu Dhabi
Dh85
Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
UK
From Dh400
Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight 56.4kg
Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari
Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam
Lightweight 60kg
Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Mahmood Amin v Taha Marrouni
Light welterweight 64.5kg
Siyovush Gulmamadov v Nouredine Samir
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Ilyass Habibali v Haroun Baka
Results
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How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
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6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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