The Supreme Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Satish Bhardwaj, alleging that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) exchanged ₹30 crore in currency notes defaced by a Kashmiri separatist group in 2013 (Satish Bhardwaj v. Union of India).
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh declined to entertain the plea, which sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged exchange of defaced currency.
The Court was informed by the RBI that the petitioner, Satish Bhardwaj, had failed to disclose that he was a dismissed employee of the central bank. The Bench emphasized that suppressing such material facts undermined the legitimacy of the PIL.
“We are not inclined to entertain this writ petition purportedly filed in the public interest. The same is, accordingly, dismissed. However, the issue, if so required to be adjudicated, shall be gone into in an appropriate case,” the Court held in its January 10 order.
Bhardwaj, who filed the petition in 2019, alleged that in 2013, a Kashmiri separatist group had defaced Indian currency notes worth ₹30 crore by stamping separatist slogans on them. He claimed these notes were exchanged by the RBI’s Jammu Regional Branch in violation of the RBI Act and the RBI (Note Refund) Rules, 2009.
In 2020, the Supreme Court had directed a status report on the matter, citing the sensitivity of the allegations. However, after Bhardwaj admitted that he was a dismissed employee of the RBI, the Court deemed the PIL inappropriate and unfit for further consideration.
The Bench clarified that the issues raised could be examined in a more appropriate context if required but dismissed the present petition.
The petitioner represented himself in court.
Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, and advocates Ramesh Babu M, Ridhi Bose, Rishi Agarwal, Sampriti Baksi, Mukesh Kumar Maroria, Shraddha Deshmukh, Vatsal Joshi, Sharath Nambiar, Chitvan Singhal, Neelakshi Bhadauria, and Sabrish Subramanian appeared for the respondent authorities.
