New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Friday recalled its August 2022 judgment that had invalidated key provisions of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988. This decision came after the Union government argued that the court had ruled on the law’s constitutionality without any party directly challenging those provisions, reports the Times of India.
The 2022 judgment had struck down sections of the original 1988 Act, leading to significant confusion over the status of benami property confiscations. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, informed a bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice Manoj Misra that the court had erred in adjudicating the constitutionality of Sections 3 and 5 of the Act. He emphasized that the validity of these sections was not a point of contention during the proceedings, which focused solely on whether the amendments made in 2016 had a prospective or retrospective effect.
The bench, agreeing with Solicitor General’s arguments, ordered the restoration of the government’s appeal against a High Court ruling that had blocked the confiscation of benami properties of a company. This reinstatement nullifies the 2022 verdict, ensuring that the provisions of the original 1988 Act remain in force.
This development marks a victory for the Union government, which had sought to rectify what it considered a judicial oversight. The decision is expected to have far-reaching implications for ongoing and future cases of benami property confiscation across the country.
