A petition before the Delhi High Court has sought direction to the Centre to ascertain the feasibility of confiscating 100% black money and benami property and awarding life imprisonment to offenders in offences relating to disproportionate assets, money laundering, tax evasion, and human-drug trafficking.
Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, in his plea, also sought to constitute an expert committee or direct the Law Commission to examine the stringent anti-corruption laws of developed countries relating to bribery, black money, benami property, tax evasion, disproportionate assets, money laundering, and prepare a comprehensive report.
Mr. Upadhyay said the total budget of the Centre, States, and local bodies is ₹70 lakh crore but due to massive corruption in every public department, around 20% of the budget, that is, ₹14 lakh crore becomes black money.
“The government can save this huge money by recalling currency above ₹100, restricting cash transactions above ₹5,000, linking assets above ₹50,000 with Aadhaar, confiscating 100% disproportionate assets, black money, benami property, and awarding life imprisonment to looters,” the plea said.
The plea submitted that the Centre and States must implement stringent anti-corruption laws to give a strong message that it is determined to weed out corruption, black money generation, benami transactions, and money laundering.
It said corruption severely affects BPL families as it distorts and disrupts the public distribution system. “It hurts EWS (economically weaker section)-BPL (below poverty line) families excessively by diverting the funds intended for their development, undermines government’s ability to provide basic services, seeds inequality and injustice and discourages foreign aid and investment,” the plea said.
