Crypto ban case to be heard by Supreme Court on 15 October 2019

After multiple delays, the Supreme Court has scheduled a date for hearing the crypto ban case. The case is set to be heard on 15th October, 2019. The case has been listed on top of the board. This means that the case will be the first one the Judges will hear on that date. The case was originally scheduled to be heard on 25th September but was postponed.

The Apex Court had started hearing the arguments to remove the banking ban by the Reserve Bank of India in detail in early August. The hearing went on for several days, in which the Central Bank’s power over crypto was extensively challenged.

During the hearing in August this year, the Court had directed RBI to reply to crypto exchanges’ detailed representation, submitted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). It explains that there is no need for a banking ban. Instead, a number of alternative measures such as applying the Money Laundering Act to crypto exchanges as intermediaries with necessary requirements were suggested.

The RBI, however, responded by saying that it forwarded the representation to the Government. After hearing the arguments, the Supreme Court determined that the RBI did not adequately answer the points made in the representation and directed it to do so within two weeks.

According to reports, the Central Bank has complied within the given timeframe as directed by the Supreme Court, and its reply was in-depth. The IAMAI has also reportedly prepared a response to the RBI’s reply.