Don’t change size of currency notes, coins for ease of the blind: HC to RBI

The bench was hearing a PIL, filed by the National Association for the Blind (NAB), highlighting difficulties faced by blind persons in identifying new currency notes and coins. The petitioner body sought directions to the RBI to include distinctive features in currency notes and coins.

Expressing displeasure over frequent changes in features of currency notes, the Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should at least keep the size of the notes the same to enable visually-impaired persons to identify the notes.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seal is pictured on a gate outside the RBI headquarters in Mumbai. (Reuters)

“Do whatever you want to do with the colour and design of the notes, but keep at least their size the same,” said the division bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice Bharati Dangre. The bench said that visually-impaired persons will be able to identify the denomination by checking its length and breadth. “By and large, the problem will be solved if they at least retain size of the notes.”

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), filed by the National Association for the Blind (NAB), highlighting difficulties faced by blind persons in identifying new currency notes and coins. The petitioner body sought directions to the RBI to include distinctive features in currency notes and coins to make them easily identifiable, advocate Uday Warunjikar informed the court. The bench accepted the contention that distinctive features were required to be retained in the notes and coins.

HC had earlier directed the banking regulator to file an affidavit disclosing what the compulsion was to change features of currency notes and size of coins. On Thursday, the RBI’s counsel sought time to file the reply, stating that they were collecting necessary data. Accordingly the bench granted two more weeks to the banking regulator for the same.