Delhi High Court responds to CoinRecoil petition

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently announced that no bank under its auspices could interact with companies involved in cryptocurrencies. Many took offense, and on April 18, CoinRecoil petitioned for the courts to intervene. Now, it would seem the courts are giving just cause to the cryptocurrency fight in India, and have issued a writ against the three entities named in the petition. Not only has the RBI been called out, but so has the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council.

Last week, CoinRecoil’s parent company, Kali Digital Eco-Systems Pvt Ltd based in Ahmedabad, had asked the courts to step in, claiming that RBI was acting in violation of the country’s constitution. It argued that, according to the constitution, a business has the right to conduct any business or activity without fear of discrimination, and that free trade is guaranteed. The GST was targeted because Kali said that the tax body didn’t create a framework for cryptocurrency taxation, which further showed discrimination. The MOF was caught up because, according to the petition, it was complicit in allowing the RBI to shun crypto companies.

The courts must have agreed, since the High Court of Delhi agreed to hold a hearing on May 24. All three entities received notice of the writ. Score a (minor) win for cryptocurrency.

In a statement to CoinGeek, Rashmi Deshpande, associate partner of the law firm Khaitan & Co. said: “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. The circular appears to be arbitrary and unconstitutional since it does not give strong facts as to why RBI is against the business of cryptocurrencies. A logical and well thought arguments backed by solid facts are the primary requirements under the Constitution to put a stop to any business in India.”

CoinRecoil is still scheduled to launch in August of this year. It will offer a fiat-to-crypto exchange and, following the launch in India, plans on rolling out its operations to Canada, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Australia.

It will offer a version for smartphones and a browser version for PCs. When it launches, CoinRecoil will provide trading options for ten different digital currencies, and will add more based on the markets.