A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought to create rules and a set of principles for cryptocurrency trading in India was denied consideration by the Indian Supreme Court.
After hearing the case, the bench led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) reportedly stated that the petitioner’s claims are more legislative in character. The panel, which included Justice JD Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, rejected the plea due to the nature of the case.
The Supreme Court observed that the petitioner’s primary goal is to obtain bail, even if the petitioner filed a PIL asking for rules and regulations regarding cryptocurrencies and their trading.
Notably, the petitioner, Manu Prashant Wig, is being detained by the Delhi Police in relation to a Bitcoin case. 2020 saw the filing of a complaint by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offence Wing (EOW), which charged Wig with encouraging people to invest in cryptocurrency with the promise of greater profits.
The article claims that Wig was one of the directors at Blue Fox Motion Picture Limited, where she encouraged people to invest. The victims then notified Delhi’s Economic Offence Wing (EOW) about the fraud.
A lawsuit alleging that Wig had tricked them was brought by 133 investors or victims who had invested their money. Manu Prashant, the petitioner, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking release from judicial custody and demanding rules and a framework for cryptocurrency trading in India.
Even though the petitioner was denied permission to file a PIL, the bench allowed the imprisoned petitioner to continue pursuing legal action and to contact other appropriate authorities.
The bench, presided over by Chief Justice Chandrachud, recommended the petitioner to seek bail from a different court during the hearing. The court expressed skepticism on the request for regulations pertaining to cryptocurrency trading, pointing out that these are matters for legislation.
The court emphasized that Article 32 of the Indian Constitution does not permit it to give orders. The lack of defined regulations, policies, or frameworks for managing cryptocurrencies makes cryptocurrency trading in India controversial.
According to reports, India is creating a framework for regulating cryptocurrencies based on suggestions made jointly by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
