Demonetisation to eradicate black money, benefit all: Govt to SC

New Delhi: The Modi government on Thursday asserted in the Supreme Court that the "bold move" of demonetisation would eradicate black money and slush funds operating since Independence which cast a "parallel economy" hitting the poor and the middle class.

The Centre, which filed an affidavit on demonetisation, said the decision on which a total secrecy was maintained, would now help in proper implementation of the ambitious 'Jan Dhan Yojana' under which around 22 crore bank accounts for poor people have been opened as reports of unscrupulous elements using these accounts to convert their black money into white surfaced.

Further, demonetisation is seen as a check on the real estate sector where prices get pushed up artificially, reducing the availability of affordable housing for the poor and the middle class.

Elaborating on several measures including the "thrust" given for increasing digital payments in the economy through credit and debit cards, internet banking, mobile apps and e-wallets, the Centre said their use has seen a jump of nearly 300 per cent in the last 10 days.

In its affidavit, the Centre also gave reasons for maintaining secrecy about the move which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi just after 8 PM on November 8 and came into force from the midnight.

"The gigantic dimensions and possibilities of compromising on secrecy were taken into consideration. If elaborate prior arrangement for distribution of new currency notes were made prior to the announcement of the scheme, the very objective of the scheme would have been defeated. Further, the scheme impacts several sectors in the short-term but promises large benefits in the economy in the medium-term," the affidavit said.

The affidavit, filed a day before a crucial hearing, contended that "no serious attempt at this scale has been attempted in the past" and in the "two attempts made in 1946 and 1978, the scale of operation was not as expansive due to the sheer size of the cash component in the economy".