High Court reserves its order on plea against Rs 2.5 lakh withdrawal limit for weddings

Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order for Tuesday on a plea seeking relaxation of the Rs 2.5 lakh withdrawal limit for marriages after demonetisation.

The plea, which has also sought that old currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 should be accepted for paying court fees, came up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal.

During the hearing, the counsel appearing for petitioner said that cap of Rs 2.5 lakh withdrawal for marriages should be relaxed as there were various “customary donations” which one gives during the wedding ceremony.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, who appeared for the Centre, told the bench that government has already given relaxation and if certain conditions are not there in place, anyone can misuse it.

“We cannot have an unmeasured and uncanalised situation.  We have given exemptions. For wedding, if we will not put conditions, anybody can get a marriage card printed and go to the bank to withdraw Rs 2.5 lakh,” the ASG said.

Regarding the issue of payment of court fees, the bench asked Jain, “We understand that they are accepting it (old currency) for court fees?” Responding to this, the ASG said that old currency of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 was accepted as court fees and government has given various relaxation on issues concerning common people.

He, however, added that Rs 100 and the new note of Rs 500 are in the market and could also be used for paying court fees.

At the fag end of the hearing, the counsel for the petitioner told the bench that some kind of liberty should be given to the parents of the bride and groom to withdraw money as per their requirements and the Rs 2.5 lakh cap should be relaxed.

“We will pass order tomorrow,” the bench said.  The High Court is hearing a batch of petitions against Centre’s demonetisation move announced on November 8.  The Supreme Court is also hearing Centre’s plea seeking transfer of all petitions pending before various courts across the country to either the apex court or one high court. The hearing is scheduled to take place on December 2.

Last week, the high court had also made it clear that it will not go into the correctness demonetisation policy as the apex court is already seized of it, on a plea against the weekly withdrawal cap of Rs 24,000.