The Supreme Court Wednesday asked petitioners who questioned the Centre's decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, in November 2016, if the issue still survived or will the hearing become an academic exercise.
A Constitution bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer, B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian, and B V Nagarathna put the question while taking up a reference on a batch of petitions filed by advocate Vivek Narayan Sharma and others.
Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that for all practical purposes, the issue may not survive, and it would be merely an academic exercise.
The bench said the court was already burdened with pendency; why should it be taking up the matter for academic exercise?
A number of counsel appearing for a total of 58 petitions, on their part, claimed the issues survived and required adjudication by the top court. Advocate M L Sharma who also filed the PIL contended there were constituional issues involved in his plea.
The bench said there were two aspects, the validity of the action and the problem associated with the implementation of demonetisation.
The court fixed the matter for a hearing on October 12 to examine whether the petitions require consideration or if it has become an academic exercise.
The apex court had on December 16, 2016, referred to the Constitution bench to examine the validity of the government's decision of November 8, 2016, to demonetise currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500.