Supreme Court Quashes RBI's Crypto-currency Ban In India

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday, has quashed the ban on crypto-currency in India. A three-judge Bench comprising Justices Rohinton Nariman, S Ravindra Bhat and V Ramasubramanian held the Reserve Bank of India circular on banning crypto-currency in April 2018, as unreasonable. The Court had heard the matter in January this year and reserved its judgment.

The apex court, with this verdict, has opened the doors to virtual currency in the country.

It may be pointed out that the RBI, had, in April 2018, issued a circular banning banking and financial services from dealing in cryptocurrency such as BitCoin.

The RBI contended that it was well within its rights in slapping such a ban on banking services from dealing in virtual currency. The Internet Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) challenged the ban imposed by RBI in the apex court.

The IAMAI argued that cryptocurrency is not a currency, is akin to casino chips and should be viewed by the RBI as if it was regular currency. The RBI contended that while it did not ban cryptocurrency, its April 2018 circular had only kept banking services out by barring them from providing services related to virtual currency.

The RBI also argued that the underlying intention was to protect the payment services in India and insulate them from crypto-currency.