Indian High Court to Hear Case Against Central Bank Crypto Ban







The High Court of Delhi has issued a notice to India's central bank over its order barring banks from engaging with cryptocurrency services, following a petition from a bitcoin exchange operator.

The company, Kali Digital Ecosystems, had planned to launch an exchange platform called CoinRecoil in August of this year.

The firm filed the petition last week, seeking "an appropriate writ, order or direction quashing the circular," adding that the central bank's ban is "arbitrary and unconstitutional" and that it is unable to begin operating due to the RBI's restrictions on banking services.

Kali Digital Ecosystems also included the Indian government in the petition, including the Ministry of Finance and others, according to a statement from the firm.

The notice sent to the central bank effectively recognizes the company's petition at the high court. The next hearing over the case has been set for May 24.

Rashmi Deshpande from law firm Khaitan & Co. was quoted in the release as saying:

"The move by the RBI has put the burgeoning cryptocurrency sector in jeopardy and may affect the basic rights of such entities to carry on any trade."

In its circular, the RBI had said that financial institutions and banks under its authority can no longer deal with cryptocurrency exchanges and other related services.

Last November, the Indian Supreme Court asked the government to respond to a petition seeking clarity on the matter.

Taking a strict stance on cryptocurrencies, the RBI raised warnings in 2013 and 2017, cautioning "users, holders and traders" that it had not licensed any company in India to work with cryptocurrencies.

Statue of Justice image via Shutterstock

www.coindesk.com - Sujha Sundararajan, Wolfie ZhaoApril 23, 2018





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