The Karnataka High Court set aside the criminal case against founders namely B V Harish and Sathvik Vishwanath of Unocoin company for setting up a Bitcoin ATM in Bengaluru.
According to the police, the company had installed the first cryptocurrency kiosk, or ATM, in a mall on Old Airport Road without taking the necessary permissions from the State government.
The case has been registered against the petitioners based on the Circular dated 06.04.2018 issued by the Reserve Bank of India and FIR was registered, the investigation was conducted and the charge sheet has been filed.
As per the RBI’s Circular, the restrictions were imposed on regulated entities such as banks and NBFCs from dealing with virtual currencies and from providing services to crypto businesses.
Advocate Jaideep Reddy on behalf of the accused relied on the judgment passed by the Supreme Court in the case of the internet and Mobile Association of India Vs. Reserve Bank of India wherein the Circular dated April 6, 2018, with regard to the prohibition of virtual currencies was set aside.
The Single Judge bench of Justice H.P.Sandesh in the light of the Apex Court’s decision in the case of Mobile Association of India Vs. Reserve Bank held that proceedings have been initiated against the petitioners based on the Circular dated April 6, 2018, and when the very Circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India is set aside by the Apex Court and when the proceedings initiated against the petitioners on the strength of Circular, the very proceedings initiated against these petitioners are liable to be set aside.
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