Five senior most judges will decide whether the notes ban is legal and whether it is a violation of fundamental rights, the Supreme Court said today.
The court is hearing petitions challenging the ban on 500 and 1,000 rupee notes last month, which has left millions facing a cash crunch and scrambling to banks and ATMs.
Whether the court can interfere in economic policy will also be debated by the five-judge constitution bench.Extending the use of old notes at select places like hospitals and petrol pumps for a few more days will, however, be decided by the government, the court said.
From today, old 500-rupee notes cannot be used anywhere and can only be deposited in banks. The government refused to extend the exemptions it had announced to ease the cash crunch.
Representing one of the petitioners, senior lawyer Kapil Sibal argued that some order had to be passed to extend the use of the banned notes.
The court also said that it is up to the government to review the withdrawal limit of Rs. 24,000 per week from banks.
