India’s Supreme Court Claims All Petitions Against Central Bank Crypto Blockade
The Supreme Court (SC) of India has barred all high courts from filing petitions against the central bank’s (RBI) crypto-curbing circular from April. The court also is clubbing all pending petitions, to be transferred to the SC.
As cryptocurrency adopters, exchanges and advocacy groups move various high courts (HC) across the country in filing petitions against the RBI’s circular from April – effectively barring banks from processing all cryptocurrency purchases – the Supreme Court has, in a hearing on Thursday, ruled that HCs will no longer allow any petitions to be filed, domestic news resource Crypto Kanoon revealed.
Further, the Supreme Court has also refused to put any stay, or a temporary suspension, on the central bank’s circular.
As reported previously, a number of cryptocurrency companies including the exchange operator Kali Digital and Flintstone Tech, a crypto trading and storage platform, moved the Delhi High Court against the RBI circular. The RBI’s new policy was “arbitrary, unfair and unconstitutional”, the latter said while filing a petition with the high court.
Earlier this month, four more exchanges across the country challenged the RBI circular and its constitutional validity with a writ petition.
Following Thursday’s developments, The Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing on the matter on July 20 when it will hear related petitions filed at the court.
Following multiple notices warning the public against cryptocurrency-related investments over the years, the Reserve Bank of India issued a sweeping policy barring all regulated financial institutions including banks from providing services to companies “dealing with or settling [cryptocurrencies]” on April 5. The RBI also mandated banks to settle and shutter their services and relationships with clients dealing with cryptocurrencies in a three-month period that will expire on July 6.
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