Mumbai, Sept. 28 -- The Supreme Court on Monday declined to stay the Centre's decision to levy fees on select UPI transactions above Rs.2,000, but sought an affidavit from the government explaining the basis for introducing a new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR).

The apex court also issued notice to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the payments regulator, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which operates the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) network.

The court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Anjan Datta challenging the legal basis for the levy and the manner in which it was introduced. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and J.V. Mohana, questioned the Centre on the legal n...