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A Supreme Court lawyer has sent a legal notice to the government seeking cancellation of the Tk 1,000 banknote to curb the spread of black money and bring greater transparency to financial transactions.
Advocate Md Mahmudul Hasan Mamun sent the notice on Tuesday in the public interest, naming the Cabinet Secretary, Secretary of the Finance Division and Governor of Bangladesh Bank as the respondents.
The notice claimed that inflation was being fuelled by excessive money supply without adequate reserves or backing. It said this was reducing the purchasing power of the taka and increasing the cost of living for ordinary and middle-income people.
The notice also referred to Article 32 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. According to the lawyer, rising prices were undermining people’s ability to meet basic food and living expenses.
Regarding the Tk 1,000 note, the notice argued that such a high-denomination banknote had limited necessity for daily transactions by day labourers and small traders. It claimed that the note could instead be used by corrupt individuals, tax evaders and criminals to store illicit money.
The notice cited India’s withdrawal of its ₹2,000 banknote as an example. The Reserve Bank of India announced the withdrawal of the denomination from circulation in May 2023 under its Clean Note Policy, while allowing it to remain legal tender and providing facilities for deposit or exchange.
The lawyer argued that withdrawing the Tk 1,000 note would help reduce the stock of black money and increase transparency in financial transactions.
The notice called for necessary legal and administrative measures within 15 days to stop printing new money without adequate reserves of gold, silver and foreign currency, and to cancel the Tk 1,000 banknote.
It warned that if effective steps were not taken within the stipulated period, a writ petition would be filed before the High Court in the public interest.
The legal notice does not itself cancel the Tk 1,000 note; any such change would require action by the competent authorities under the applicable legal and monetary framework.