Legal Issues:

1. Whether the petitioners are entitled to a writ of Mandamus commanding the respondent authorities to issue small coins directly to them?
2. Whether the petitioners are entitled to a writ of Certiorari to produce all records related to the issuance of small coins?
3. Whether the Reserve Bank of India has fulfilled its duty to regulate the circulation of money?
4. Whether the Court has jurisdiction to interfere with the policy decisions of the Reserve Bank of India regarding the issuance of coins?
5. Whether the petitioners have failed to approach the banks for the issuance of coins as per the guidelines?

Facts:

• The petitioners filed a writ petition seeking the issuance of small coins directly to them and other operators of Route No. 223 to avoid paying high commissions to third parties.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) filed an affidavit-in-opposition stating that there is no shortage of small currency and coins, but some sections of society find it difficult to secure them.
• The RBI has a distribution system in place through commercial banks and coin vending machines.
• The State Bank of India and RBI explained the functioning of small currency and coin depots in West Bengal, including the linkage scheme and installation of coin vending machines.
• The petitioners were found to have not approached the banks for the issuance of coins, except for one occasion.
  Holding:
• The Court held that the petitioners were not entitled to a writ of Mandamus or Certiorari as there was no shortage of small currency and coins according to the RBI.
• The Court stated that it cannot interfere with the policy decisions of the RBI regarding the circulation of money as it is a technical and policy-related matter.
• The Court emphasized that it is the duty of the RBI to regulate the circulation of money for the benefit of the country.
• The petitioners were found to have not followed the guidelines for approaching banks for the issuance of coins.
• The writ petition was disposed of with these observations.

Decision:

The public interest litigation is disposed of, and the writ petition is also disposed of. 

To read full case data : Click here 

Source : casemine.com