New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) accusing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) of exchanging Rs 30 crore worth of defaced currency allegedly linked to a Kashmir separatist group.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh dismissed the plea, which sought a CBI investigation into the matter. The RBI’s counsel, senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, informed the court that the petitioner, Satish Bhardwaj, had been dismissed from the RBI and failed to disclose this fact in his petition.
“He appears to be a disgraced employee of the bank,” the bench observed, adding that Bhardwaj had concealed material facts.
Bhardwaj, representing himself, cited a newspaper report as the basis for his claims. He alleged that the RBI’s Jammu branch exchanged the defaced currency in 2013 for a separatist group named “Kashmir Graffiti,” which had stamped separatist slogans on the notes.
Justice Surya Kant told Bhardwaj that his lack of transparency undermined the credibility of the petition. After Bhardwaj admitted to his dismissal from the RBI, the bench dismissed the petition, stating it could not be entertained under the guise of public interest. However, it left the door open for the issue to be revisited in a more appropriate case if necessary.
The petitioner argued that the RBI’s actions were in violation of its regulations, which prohibit the exchange of stamped or defaced currency. He claimed the group’s intent was to disrupt peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
Bhardwaj also alleged that he had approached the CBI in 2013 to investigate the matter but received no response. The court, however, declined to intervene, concluding that the petition lacked merit.
