The Bombay High Court on Monday issued a notice to the finance ministry in a petition alleging that over the years, more currency notes have been destroyed than printed in the country.
A Division Bench of Justices B.P. Dharmadhikari and Revati Mohite-dere was hearing a criminal petition filed by right to information (RTI) activist Manoranjan Roy. The petition brings out the comparison between RTI responses from four printing presses under the command of the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and shows large inconsistencies between them and the RBI annual report. It says, over the years, notes have been consistently destroyed rather than printed by the presses in Nashik, Dewas and Bengaluru. “The difference runs into millions of currency notes of all denominations,” the petition said.
Advocate Tanveer Nizam, appearing for Mr. Roy said, “The data obtained under the RTI shows there is absolutely no congruence between money received from currency presses across India and the RBI annual report. This is a matter of national security and cannot be ignored.” The matter will be heard on April 12.
Mr. Roy has also written to the Director General of Central Economic Intelligence Bureau on November 30, 2018 but has received no acknowledgement or response. The petition alleges that after the decision of demonetisation on November 8, 2016, the RBI received ₹15.28 lakh crore-worth notes in denominations of 500 and 1,000 against ₹14.11 lakh crore as claimed to be in circulation. The difference is over ₹1.16 lakh crore. The petition has sought an investigation from an independent agency.