The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that alleged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Jammu branch had unlawfully exchanged Rs 30 crore-worth of defaced currency notes for a Kashmir separatist group known as “Kashmir Graffiti.” The bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, ruled against the PIL following revelations that the petitioner, Satish Bhardwaj, was a former RBI employee who had been dismissed and had withheld this information from the court.
The allegations, which were brought to light by Bhardwaj himself, claimed that the currency exchange aimed to destabilize peace and create tension in Jammu and Kashmir. He cited a Facebook statement by the separatist group that they had stamped separatist slogans on Indian currency worth Rs 30 crore during the period from May to August 2013. Bhardwaj argued that such an exchange was illegal under RBI regulations which stipulate the conditions under which currency notes can be exchanged.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta, representing the RBI, argued that there was no basis for Bhardwaj’s claims. Justice Surya Kant highlighted that Bhardwaj had concealed critical information regarding his dismissal from the bank in his petition. Following his admission of dismissal, the court concluded that the PIL was not filed in good faith and was therefore not fit to be entertained.
The plea had initially caught the court’s attention in January 2020, with the Supreme Court directing the Centre to investigate the matter, acknowledging its potential national importance. Despite this, the subsequent findings led to a dismissal based on the petitioner’s credibility and the unsubstantiated nature of the allegations.
