A three-judge Bench of Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice V Ramasubramanian allowed the plea of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) challenging the order.
The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday, 4 March 2020 lifted the banking ban on cryptocurrency by the Indian Central Bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India ordered all financial institutions governed by it to break all ties with individuals or businesses operating in a virtual currency like bitcoin within three months. The trading volume in cryptocurrency declined significantly over the past two years and many exchanges closed. A three-judge Bench of Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice V Ramasubramanian allowed the plea of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) challenging the order.
Hon'ble Mr. Justice V. Ramasubramanian pronounced the reportable judgment of the Bench comprising Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Aniruddha Bose and His Lordship. The writ petitions are allowed and the Circular dated 06.04.2018 is set aside in terms of the signed reportable judgment. Pending applications, if any, stand disposed of.
After the judgment, Now Indian crypto users will be able to trade and buy cryptocurrencies though their bank accounts directly.
We approached many leading cryptocurrency exchanges in India. We were able to get the statement from one of the leading crypto exchange in India, Bitbns CEO Gaurav on today's judgement
We are quite excited about the ban lift, which is a much-awaited relief for us and the entire crypto community. It’s such a morale boost and will definitely help us bring back the high-volume traders who were concerned about the tips involved in our P2P transaction system, and have been unable to transact small amounts. We are happy that they finally have a resolution. Besides, we hope the media houses across the country would cover the news positively and the myths questioning the legality of crypto in India, would ideally be reduced to nil. Lastly, and most importantly, we are confident that this verdict would give rise to a greater ecosystem in a country where innovation has always had a place, and rope in new investors, better support for blockchain-based projects, and eventually, create more jobs in India.
We might also expect many stock broking firm offering crypto services in future in India.