Delhi High Court. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (September 24, 2025) noted that it cannot issue an order compelling the Centre or the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to redesign currency, while hearing a plea seeking the introduction of ₹50 notes with special identification marks for visually impaired persons.
A Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that decisions on introducing digital currency or issuing specially designed notes, for the benefit of persons with disabilities or the visually impaired, fall within the policy-making domain of the government and the RBI, involving complex technical and financial considerations.
The petitioners include, George Abraham — a visually challenged person, the Blind Graduates Forum of India, All India Confederation of the Blind as well as individuals, Rohit Dandriyal and Rahul Kumar.
The pleas had sought direction from the court for issuing of new Rupee 50 note with identification mark for visually impaired persons. They had also sought directions to ensure access to financial services for the visually challenged person.
The court took note of RBI’s submission that exercise to print fresh currency is usually carried out once in 10 years or so.
“If that is so, we direct that both, the RBI as well as the Government of India, shall address the difficulties and impediments faced by vulnerable class of citizens like the specially abled/visually impaired persons and take into account the workable suggestions of the High Powered Committee before issuing or printing new currency notes,” the court said.
The court expressed “fond hope and positive anticipation” that the suggestions of the High Powered Committee set up by the court in 2022 to look into all the grievances raised in by the petitioners, will be implemented in due course.
During the course of the proceeding, RBI has stated that it was “aware of and acknowledges the concerns of the visually impaired persons regarding identification of banknotes”.
It said the work on the next series of banknotes has been underway since 2017. RBI said it has taken up the matter of improvement in visually impaired friendly features with the printing presses and experiments are being conducted to examine the feasibility of enhancing efficacy of visually impaired friendly features (i.e., bleed lines, other intaglio elements) in the banknotes.
On the petitioner’s plea for a new Rupee 50 note with identification mark for visually impaired persons, the court considered the submission of RBI that printing of new currency notes “may entail huge costs running into thousands of crores and the recall and destruction of old/prevalent currency would itself entail huge costs and time”.
“We can only observe that the RBI and the Government of India shall keep in mind and take into consideration the suggestions of the High Powered Committee as and when the Government of India and RBI decide to print fresh currency,” the court said.
Published – September 25, 2025 05:20 am IST
