Demonetisation case: Reacting to Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the demonetisation policy, former law minister and senior Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad hailed the apex court's move to junk all 58 pleas against the note ban on Monday saying the court has accepted that government's decision was within the frame of the law.
"Court ne maana government ki niyat or niyati theek thi (The court has accepted that the intension and the policy of the government were legally correct)," Prasad said.
The note ban was the biggest assault against terrorism and corruption, he asserted.
SC upholds govt's decision
Earlier, the Supreme Court in a 4:1 majority verdict on Monday upheld the government's 2016 decision to demonetise the Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination notes, saying the decision-making process was not flawed.
There has to be great restraint in matters of economic policy and the court cannot supplant the wisdom of the executive by a judicial review of its decision, a five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court, headed by Justice S A Nazeer, said.
Congress leader P Chidambaram criticises the order
Congress leader and one of the petitioners P Chidambaram expressed his disappointment over the judgement saying, “once the Hon'ble Supreme Court has declared the law, we are obliged to accept it.”
“However, it is necessary to point out that the majority has not upheld the wisdom of the decision; nor has the majority concluded that the stated objectives were achieved. In fact, the majority has steered clear of the question whether the objectives were achieved at all,” he tweeted.
We are happy that the minority judgement has pointed out the illegality and the irregularities in the Demonetisation, he added.
“The dissenting judgement will rank among the famous dissents recorded in the history of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The minority judgement brings out the profound distinction between the plenary legislative power of Parliament and the limited power of the executive Government,” he said.
We are happy that the minority judgment has emphasised the important role of Parliament in a democracy, Chidambaram added.
(With PTI input)
