Delhi HC notes redesign of foreign money in coverage realm, asks RBI to contemplate visually impaired in subsequent collection

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (September 24, 2025) famous that it can’t problem an order compelling the Centre or the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to revamp foreign money, whereas listening to a plea looking for the introduction of ₹50 notes with particular identification marks for visually impaired individuals.

A Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noticed that choices on introducing digital foreign money or issuing specifically designed notes, for the good thing about individuals with disabilities or the visually impaired, fall throughout the policy-making area of the federal government and the RBI, involving advanced technical and monetary issues.

The petitioners embrace, George Abraham — a visually challenged individual, the Blind Graduates Forum of India, All India Confederation of the Blind in addition to people, Rohit Dandriyal and Rahul Kumar.

The pleas had sought course from the court docket for issuing of latest Rupee 50 observe with identification mark for visually impaired individuals. They had additionally sought instructions to make sure entry to monetary companies for the visually challenged individual.

The court docket took observe of RBI’s submission that train to print contemporary foreign money is often carried out as soon as in 10 years or so.

“If that’s so, we direct that each, the RBI in addition to the Government of India, shall tackle the difficulties and impediments confronted by weak class of residents just like the specifically abled/visually impaired individuals and keep in mind the workable recommendations of the High Powered Committee earlier than issuing or printing new foreign money notes,” the court docket stated.

The court docket expressed “fond hope and optimistic anticipation” that the recommendations of the High Powered Committee arrange by the court docket in 2022 to look into all of the grievances raised in by the petitioners, will probably be applied in the end.

During the course of the continuing, RBI has acknowledged that it was “conscious of and acknowledges the considerations of the visually impaired individuals relating to identification of banknotes”.

It stated the work on the following collection of banknotes has been underway since 2017. RBI stated it has taken up the matter of enchancment in visually impaired pleasant options with the printing presses and experiments are being performed to look at the feasibility of enhancing efficacy of visually impaired pleasant options (i.e., bleed strains, different intaglio parts) within the banknotes.

On the petitioner’s plea for a brand new Rupee 50 observe with identification mark for visually impaired individuals, the court docket thought of the submission of RBI that printing of latest foreign money notes “might entail enormous prices working into 1000’s of crores and the recall and destruction of previous/prevalent foreign money would itself entail enormous prices and time”.

“We can solely observe that the RBI and the Government of India shall bear in mind and take into accounts the recommendations of the High Powered Committee as and when the Government of India and RBI resolve to print contemporary foreign money,” the court docket stated.