Ever since the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 has been duly strengthened, the government appears to be highlighting it as another master stroke against the menace of black money. In this narrative, the government’s assertion that it was the one which “notified” the 1988 law seems to have been promoted.
The 1988 Benami law was put in place by the Rajiv Gandhi government as a promulgation of an ordinance followed by its due enactment in Parliament. It was implemented the same year although it is a different matter that the rules as mandated under then Section 8 therein were not framed in all these years, which resulted in such a law not fulfilling its purpose and objective in letter and spirit. This government, apart from amending the same with framing of such rules, has even renamed it as the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988.
UPA-II more than five years ago had also taken the initiative in this regard. Instead of amending the 1988 law, as has been done now, it substituted it with a fresh law. The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill, 2011 was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Pranab Mukherjee, then Union Finance Minister. This Bill was even referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, which submitted its report in June 2012, suggesting recommendations. Unfortunately, this Bill lapsed as it could not be passed in the 15th Lok Sabha.
“Benami” appears to be a misnomer. This Persian-borrowed word literally means “nameless or without name” whereas the law in which it is used denotes a transaction which is done by a person without using his own name. This is a grey area that must be examined.
Hemant Kumar,
Ambala City, Haryana
