{"id":7883,"date":"2020-06-16T10:01:28","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T04:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/?p=7883"},"modified":"2020-06-16T10:01:28","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T04:31:28","slug":"benami-law-as-amended-whether-retroactive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/benami-law-as-amended-whether-retroactive\/","title":{"rendered":"Benami Law As Amended &#8211; Whether Retroactive?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-content\/uploads\/CA.-Pankaj-Agrwal.jpg\" alt=\"CA. Pankaj Agrwal\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-7241\" \/><strong>The question as to whether the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, as amended by the Benami  Transactions (Prohibitions) Amendment Act, 2016, is prospective or retrospective is of vital importance to the several proceedings which are presently pending before the authorities. CA. Pankaj Agrwal has applied his mind to all the arguments and counter-arguments advanced by the contesting parties and expressed his opinion on the topic<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  An issue is being discussed as to applicability of the the  Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 as amended by the Benami  Transactions (Prohibitions) Amendment Act, 2016 which got assent of the  President of India on 10th August 2016 and came into force from 1st  November 2016. In several webinars being conducted by various professional  forums, and articles published, the discussion centres around whether the amendment  Act is prospective or retrospective. &nbsp;There  are conflicting judgements also from various High Courts. One of such  judgements is of the Kolkatta High Court in Ganpati Dealcom Pvt. Ltd. which  held the law to be prospective, but has been stayed in its operation to that  extent by the Hon&rsquo;ble Supreme Court. &nbsp;All  these decisions are generally by way of writ to stall the proceedings initiated  by Initiating officer, and the focus of the arguments has been whether the law  is prospective or retrospective. The nature of amendments which are large in  number and are changing the colour and texture of the pre-amended Act is having  wider ramifications. In such discussions, and decisions, the change in definition  of &lsquo;benami transactions&rsquo; having wider repercussions is not being generally  discussed. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\n  Hence, in this article, an attempt is being made to explain,  how the amending Act, though prospective, will affect the transactions even if,  they have been done prior to coming into force of this Act. <\/p>\n<p>\n  <strong>Date of commencement of Amendment Act<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n  Sub-section (2) of section 1 of the amending Act provides as  under: <\/p>\n<p>\n  &ldquo;(2) It shall come into force on such date as  the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint,  and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and  any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be  construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\n  The Central Government vide  notification no. 98\/2016 dated 25th   October 2016 appointed 1st&nbsp;November   2016 as the date from which the amending Act will come into force. <\/p>\n<p>\n  It is cardinal principle that  every statute prima facie is prospective unless it is expressly or by necessary  implication made to have retrospective operation. Unless there are words in the  statute sufficient to show the intention of the Legislature to affect the  existing rights, it is &ldquo;deemed to be prospective only &lsquo;<em>nova constitutio  futuris formam imponere debet non prae-teritis<\/em>&rsquo;. <a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftnref1\"> (1) <\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n  It is not necessary that an express  provision be made to make a statute retrospective and the presumption against  retrospectivity may be rebutted by necessary implication especially in a case  where the new law is made to cure an acknowledged evil for the benefit of a  community as a whole. <a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftnref2\"> (2) <\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n  <strong>Prospective Vs. Retrospective<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n  In view of this position of law, <em>per  se<\/em>, it cannot be said that the Benami Transactions (Prohibitions) Amendment  Act, 2016 is retrospective in nature. The law is prospective only. A view is  also being expressed that since section 1(3) of the Act, is not amended, it  makes all the provisions except section 3,5 and 8 to be effective from 19th day  of May 1988.&nbsp; This argument was also  taken before Kolkatta High Court by the Additional Soliciter General in Ganpati  Dealcom Pvt. Ltd as given in its order as under:<\/p>\n<p>\n  <strong>&ldquo;<em>14.<\/em><\/strong><em> The learned Additional Solicitor  General argued that the amendments were very carefully woven into the fabric of  the parent Act. He referred to section 1(2) of the amending Act which stated  that different dates may be appointed for coming into force of different  provisions of the Act. He argued that section 1(3) of the Parent Act said that  provisions of the Act except 3, 5 and 8 as per the Act would come into force on  19th May, 1988. The amending Act was grafted into it. Therefore, the amendments  of 2016 had retrospective effect. He also argued that the concept of benami  property and benami transaction remained the same on amendment. So was the  provision regarding acquisition and compensation. The amending Act merely provided  a machinery for the implementation of the Parent Act.<\/em>&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\n  &nbsp;The hon&rsquo;ble High  Court rejected the contention of the Additional Soliciter General in the  following words: <\/p>\n<p>\n  <strong>&ldquo;<em>30.<\/em><\/strong><em> I reject the contention of the  Additional Solicitor General that the provision in section 1(2) of the said Act  automatically made the amending Act of 2016 retrospective. The 2016 amendment  is a new legislation and in order to have retrospectivity it should have been  specifically provided therein that it was intended to cover contraventions at  an earlier point of time. That express provision is not there. Therefore this  contention of the Additional Solicitor General fails.<\/em>&rsquo;<\/p>\n<p>\n  However, with due respect to the proponents of this view, I  will like to elaborate upon their arguments with my comments. Section 1(3) of  the parent Act is as under: <\/p>\n<p>\n  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &ldquo;<em>The  provisions of section 3, 5, 8 shall come into force at once, and the remaining  provisions of this Act shall be deemed to have come into force on the 19th  day of May 1988.<\/em>&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>\n  Because of deeming provisions in commencement section, it is  argued that whole Act except for section 3,5,and 8 shall be deemed to have  commenced from 19th day of May 1988. It creates an anomalous situtation  because there are new chapters creating authorities, providing their powers etc.  and they cannot be made effective from 19th   May 1988. In my understanding, the commencement section, becomes inoperative  once the Act comes into operation like an officer after passing the order  becomes functus officio.&nbsp; <strong><u>Secondly,  we forget why certain provisions were brought into force from a specific date. Generally,  when any Act is preceded by an ordinance, the provisions which were brought through  ordinance are made operative from the date of coming into force of the  ordinance and the rest of the provisions are made operative from the date of  coming into force of the Act.<\/u> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong>Hence,  it is incorrect proposition or argument to say that because of section 1(3) of  the Act, the amendments made will have retrospective operation. Any amendment  made by an amending Act will come into operation from the date as provided in  the amendment Act.<\/p>\n<p>\n  <strong>Definition of Benami transaction as amended<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n  &ldquo;(<em>9<\/em>)  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;<em>benami <\/em>transaction&quot; means,&mdash;<\/p>\n<p>\n  (<em>A<\/em>)  a transaction or an arrangement&mdash;<\/p>\n<p>\n  (<em>a<\/em>) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; where a property is transferred  to, or is held by, a person, and the consideration for such property has been provided, or paid by, another person; and<\/p>\n<p>\n  (<em>b<\/em>) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; the property is held for the  immediate or future benefit, direct or indirect, of the person who has provided the consideration, except when the property is held  by&mdash;<\/p>\n<p>\n  (<em>i<\/em>)   a <em>Karta<\/em>, or a member of a Hindu undivided family, as the case may be, and the property is  held for his benefit or benefit of other members in the family and the  consideration for such property has been provided or paid out of the known  sources of the Hindu undivided family;<\/p>\n<p>\n  (<em>ii<\/em>)  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; a person standing in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of another person towards whom he  stands in such capacity and includes a trustee, executor, partner, director  of a company, a depository or a participant as an agent of a depository under  the Depositories Act, 1996 and any other person as may be notified  by the Central Government for this purpose;<\/p>\n<p>\n  (<em>iii<\/em>)  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; any person being an individual in the name of his spouse or in the name of any child of  such individual and the consideration for such property has been provided  or paid out of the known sources of the individual;<\/p>\n<p>\n  (<em>iv<\/em>)  any person in the name of his brother or sister or lineal ascendant or descendant, where the  names of brother or sister or lineal ascendant or descendent and the  individual appear as joint-owners in any document, and the consideration for  such property has been provided or paid out of the known sources of the  individual; or<\/p>\n<p>\n  (<em>B<\/em>)  a transaction or an arrangement in respect of a property carried out or  made in a fictitious name; or<\/p>\n<p>\n  (<em>C<\/em>)  a transaction or an arrangement in respect of a property where the owner  of the property is not aware of, or, denies knowledge of, such ownership;<\/p>\n<p>\n  (<em>D<\/em>)  a transaction or an arrangement in respect of a property where the  person providing the consideration is not traceable or is fictitious; <\/p>\n<p>\n  <em>Explanation.<\/em>&mdash;For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that <em>benami<\/em>transaction  shall not include any transaction involving the allowing of possession of any  property to be taken or retained in part performance of a contract referred to in  section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, if, under any law for the time  being in force,&mdash;<\/p>\n<p>\n  (<em>i<\/em>) &nbsp;&nbsp; consideration for such property has been provided by the person to  whom possession of property has been allowed but the person who has  granted possession thereof continues to hold ownership of such property;<\/p>\n<p>\n  (ii) &nbsp; stamp  duty on such transaction or arrangement has been paid; and<\/p>\n<p>\n  (iii) &nbsp; the  contract has been registered. <\/p>\n<p>The definition of &ldquo;<em>benami<\/em> transaction&rdquo; has been enlarged so as to include &lsquo;an arrangement&rsquo; and &lsquo;held by&rsquo;.  Earlier only &lsquo;transactions&rsquo; were covered in which property was transferred to  one person for a consideration paid or provided by another person. The  exceptions given in sections 3 and 4 have been made part of definition  alongwith some other exceptions.<\/p>\n<p>\n    <strong>How far each of the substantive  changes made to the definition of &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> transaction&rsquo; will be  prospective or affect transactions already done? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n  Before 1st November 2016, the definition of &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> transaction&rsquo; was very simple and it meant &lsquo;when the consideration is provided  by one person and the property is transferred to another person&rsquo;. Impliedly,  three parties were required, one, the person providing the consideration, second,  the transferor and third, the transferee. The hon&rsquo;ble Kerala High Court in the  case of Ouseph Chacko V. Raman Nair Air<a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftnref3\"> (3) <\/a> held that &lsquo;when there is no transfer of property as in a sham document, when  there is no consideration for the transaction, it is a sham transaction, which  does not satisfy the definition of <em>benami<\/em> transaction under the Act. The  definition of <em>benami<\/em> transaction in the Act thus excludes from its  purview a sham transaction&rsquo;. A fresh look will be required to these rulings in  view of the amended definition. <\/p>\n<p>\n  Now definition of &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> transaction&rsquo; covers four types of transactions. For each of the transactions,  it is to be tested how far it can affect the transactions done earlier (prior  to 1st November 2016). <\/p>\n<h4>Type I&nbsp; <\/h4>\n<p>This category is the modified definition as it existed in  pre amendment Act. It has been enlarged and the exceptions given in section 3  and 4 of old section have been brought within the definition clause so they  apply universally to the whole Act. The major changes are as under: <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">It includes &lsquo;arrangement&rsquo; also.  Earlier only transactions were covered. The term &lsquo;arrangement&rsquo; is wider in  scope and implications than the term &lsquo;transaction&rsquo;. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Applying the maxim<em> &lsquo;Reddendo  Singula singulis&rsquo;<\/em> the term &lsquo;transaction&rsquo; will go with the act of &lsquo;transfer&rsquo;  and the term &lsquo;arrangement&rsquo; will go with &lsquo;held by&rsquo;.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">A provision is added to reduce its  hardship which provided that the property is held for the immediate or future  benefit, direct or indirect, of the person who has provided the consideration. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">An explanation is also added to  provide for transactions which are not registered as required by law because  legally, in all such cases legal title continues with the transferor and the  possession goes to the transferee based on power of attorney or some other such  documents. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>These following 4 actions have been contemplated in the Act:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Prohibition from entering into &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> transactions&rsquo; (Section 3)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Prohibition of the right to  recover property held <em>benami<\/em> (Section 4) <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Property held <em>benami<\/em> liable  to confiscation (Section 5) <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Penalty for entering into <em>benami<\/em> transaction (Section 53)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>Benami<\/em> property means any  property which is the subject matter of a <em>benami<\/em> transaction and also  includes the proceeds from such property. <\/p>\n<p>\n  Section 3 prohibits &lsquo;entering  into&rsquo; and section 53, after 1st   November 2016, makes any person who &lsquo;enters into&rsquo; a <em>benami<\/em> transaction to be an offender. <\/p>\n<p>\n  A question arises can these  sections apply to <em>benami<\/em> properties which were acquired prior to 1st  November 2016 as the transactions were entered into before that date or before  the amendment came into force. As per legal lexicon, &ldquo;TO ENTER INTO&rdquo; is to  engage in or bind oneself by (an engagement, contract, treaty, etc.) <\/p>\n<p>\n  Now, the definition of <em>benami<\/em> transaction includes &lsquo;a transaction or an arrangement&rsquo; and &lsquo;transferred to or  held by&rsquo; a person. Transaction of transfer has a termination when the property  gets conveyed to the transferee <strong><u>but an arrangement of holding the  property is an act which is continuous.<\/u><\/strong> So in view of this extended  meaning of &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> transaction&rsquo;, the provisions of section 3 and section  53 will be attracted to all such transactions where the property is held by a  person for the benefit of the person who has provided such consideration even  if those transactions of transfer have taken place&nbsp; earlier to 1st November 2016. For  example, if by legislation, it is prohibited to hold anything say foreign made  certain goods, such provision will be prospective but will apply to all such  goods being held even if they might have been acquired prior to its prohibition  unless exemption is given. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\n  The rule against retrospective  construction is not applicable to a statute merely &ldquo;because a part of the  requisites for its action is drawn from a time antecedent to its passing&rdquo;. If  that were not so, every statute will be presumed to apply only to persons born  and things come into existence after its operation and the rule may well result  in virtual nullification of most of the statutes. <a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftnref4\"> (4) <\/a>&nbsp; <\/p>\n<p>\n  Section 4 deals with prohibition  of any suit in respect of a <em>benami<\/em> property and section 5 deals with  confiscation of <em>benami<\/em> property. These sections deal with &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> property&rsquo;. <em>Benami<\/em> property means any property which has been subject  matter of <em>benami<\/em> transaction and includes proceeds from such property. <\/p>\n<p>\n  To decide whether <em>benami<\/em> property has been subject matter of <em>benami<\/em> transaction or not, the  definition of <em>benami<\/em> transaction has to be looked into and the amended  definition which includes &lsquo;arrangement&rsquo; and &lsquo;held by&rsquo;, being a wide definition  and being a continuous act, will make them amenable to the provisions of  section 4 and 5, even if the transaction has taken place prior to 1st&nbsp;November  2016. <\/p>\n<p>\n  The hon&rsquo;ble Supreme Court had to consider the applicability of section 4 to  the proceedings which were initiated before the coming into force of the <em>benami<\/em> law before the courts and were pending in the case of <strong>Mithilesh Kumari and  Another Vs. Prem Behari Khare<\/strong><a href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftnref5\"> (5) <\/a>.  The two judge bench held the provisions of section 4 to be applicable to all  the pending proceedings. Impliedly, it means that all those transactions though,  having taken place earlier, will get hit by the provisions of section 4 of the  Act if the property was of the nature of <em>benami<\/em> as defined. However,  this decision was overruled by the three judge bench of Hon&rsquo;ble Supreme Court  in R. Rajagopal Reddy (dead) by <strong>L. Rs Vs. Padmini Chandrasekharan (dead) by L.  Rs<\/strong>.<a href=\"#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftnref6\"> (6) <\/a> holding that &lsquo;Sub-section (1) of section 4 cannot be applied to suit claim, or  action to enforce any right in property held <em>benami<\/em> against person in whose  name such property is held or any other person, if such proceeding is initiated  by or on behalf of a person claiming to be real owner thereof prior to coming  into force of sub-section (2). <strong><u>These decisions also support the view that  the nature of property whether it is <em>benami<\/em> or not will be established  as per new definition of law and the consequences of the Act will follow. &nbsp;<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<h4>Type II&nbsp; <\/h4>\n<p>The second type which has been  added to the definition is transactions or arrangement made in fictitious name.  This is also a continuous act in which the property is being held in a  fictitious name. Though, such transaction would have been carried out earlier  to 1st November 2016,  yet it will become &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> transaction&rsquo; and the property will become &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> property&rsquo; and all the consequences of amended law will follow.<\/p>\n<h4>Type III <\/h4>\n<p>The third type added is  transaction or arrangement in respect of a property where the owner does not  know about his ownership or denies his ownership. In this type also,  &lsquo;arrangement&rsquo; shows the continuity of the transaction and hence, will make such  an act to be &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> transaction&rsquo; and the property &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> property&rsquo; and all the consequences of the amended law will follow.<\/p>\n<h4>Type IV<\/h4>\n<p>The fourth type added is a transaction  or arrangement in respect of a property where the person providing the  consideration is not traceable or is fictitious. This is the most dangerous  provision of law. <\/p>\n<p>\n  The Act does not provide any time  limit as to how far back the enforcement agencies can go to trace the person  who has provided the consideration. A person may have acquired some immovable  property by making borrowings and the liability of such borrowing has not been  repaid and the person who has lent the money is not traceable when the authorities  take action. This problem can be looked at from two angles. <\/p>\n<p>\n  First the property which has been  bought with borrowed money. If the person who has lent the money was identified  and his confirmation etc. is available with the borrower, the property cannot  be said to have been acquired with consideration whose provider is not  traceable or fictitious as he was available at the time when the property was  taken.<\/p>\n<p>\n  Second, can the government demand  the money borrowed as it is also a property with regard to lender and the  person providing consideration for such property is not traceable. Hence, this  can be treated as &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> property&rsquo; and the action may be taken under  this Act. <\/p>\n<p>\n  <strong><u>Explanation to definition  of &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> property&rsquo;&nbsp; <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n  An explanation has also been  added as a removal of doubt provision. It implies that if the conditions of the  explanation are not fulfilled, the property will become &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> property&rsquo;.  In a nutshell, the crux of this explanation is that the legal owner is the  person in whose name the legal title of the property stands and if such owner  does not have any monetary interests in the property, he becomes benamidar for  the real owner and such property will become &lsquo;<em>benami<\/em> property&rsquo;. The term  &lsquo;held by&rsquo; being of a continuous nature, even if such property is old one, the  consequences of amended law will follow. <\/p>\n<p>\n  <strong>Exit Mechanism<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n  When the government enacts any law  prohibiting holding of something, it is also required to provide the mechanism  to exit or how to deal with existing goods with their holders. <\/p>\n<p>\n  Was any such exit route provided  to the holders of benami properties? The answer is yes. Income Disclosure  Scheme 2016 has given an opportunity to all who have been holding <em>benami<\/em> properties to disclose and get the same transferred in their name within one  year. Such re-transfer has also been exempted from the rigors of provisions of  section 6 which prohibits re-transfer of property from benamidar to real owner. <\/p>\n<p>\n  <strong>Law Commisison 130th Report<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n  Before I conclude, I will like to quote from the 130th  report of the Law commission as under: <\/p>\n<p>\n  &ldquo;<em>1.6 The report was with the Government for about a decade and a  half.&nbsp; Ultimately it appears that the  Government of India resolved to implement the recommendations of the Law Commission.&nbsp; The ordinance more or less bodily adopted the  draft recommendation set out under the marginal note &lsquo;Recommendation&rsquo; with one  important variation that while the Law Commission was of the opinion that it is  necessary to make an exception for past transactions, as the provisions of the  Ordinance stand, the President appears to have resolved to make them  retroactive. The widespread belief held now is that the operation of the  provisions of the Ordiance would be retroactive and even the past benami  transactions would be governed by the provisoins of the ordinance if it becomes  necessary for the parties to such past benami transactions to either file a  suit to enforce any right in respect of any property held benami against the  person in whose name the property is held or against any other person by or on  behalf of the person claiming to be the real owner of such property or defend claiming  right in respect of any property held benami whether against the person in whose  name the property is held or against any other person. &nbsp;This  understanding of the ordinance has led to a debate in print media. The grievance  therein stated is that &lsquo;such legislation cannot be enacted with retrospective  effect for the person purchasing benami property before May 19 (date of the  ordinance) did so keeping in mind the laws relating to benami transactions prevalent  at that time.&nbsp; How can the state snatch away  his right to enforce his ownership of that property?<\/em>&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>\n  In para 2.9 of its report, the Law  Commission gave its opinion as under: <\/p>\n<p>\n  &ldquo;<em>2.9 Benami  property is not the creation of a statute.&nbsp;  It acquired legal respectability by judicial law-making.&nbsp; The earliest case to which reference was made  in the earlier report of the Law Commission was of the year 1915. Quoting Sir  George Farwell&rsquo;s observation that a benami transaction, a dealing common to  Hindus and Mohammedans alike, is much in use in India.&nbsp;  According to him, it was quite unobjectionable and has a curious  resemblanceto the doctrine of the English law and tracing the history down to  the lates cases, the Law Commission concluded that benami has become part of  Indian law.&nbsp; The Law Commission  recommended that it is time that benami ceases to be a part of Indian law  because it was resorted to usually (but not always) with the object of  concealing the real owner, fraud on creditors, desire to evade taxes as also to  avoid certain political and social risks.&nbsp;  It was in 1973, that is, nearly a decade and a half back, that the Law Commission  recommended to the Government of India that benami should cease to be a part of  the Indian law.&nbsp; This report was  published and it was a notice to all benamidars as well as the so-called real  owners that Government may contemplate enacting a legislation to put an end to benami  as part of Indian law.&nbsp; As the present  trend of thinking is that the proposed legislation replacing the Ordinance  should be retroactive, a grievance may be made that the Government should not  have acted abruptly without giving locus poenitentiae to those who  entered into benami transactions when were valid and would have no chance to  set right their house.&nbsp; <strong>In the opinion  of the Law Commission a notice of a decade and a half is more than adequate for  this purpose and therefore, it is not necessary to grant any such indulgence<\/strong><\/em><strong>.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>\n  In view of the above remarks of the Law Commission, even the  amendments made by 2016 amending Act will be retroactive. There was sufficient  notice when the bill was presented, and the opportunity was given in Income Disclosure  Scheme 2016 to make a disclosure and to get the benami property re-transferred. <\/p>\n<p>\n  <strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n  The benami law  is an unfolding law with rigourous provisions. It will be interesting to watch with  legal brains on both sides arguing to see how it unfolds. &nbsp; <\/p>\n<div class=\"footnotes\">\n<div id=\"ftn1\">\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftn1\"> (1) <\/a> Doolubdass  Pettamberdass V. Ramloll Thackoorseydass (1850) 5 MIA further K. S. Paripoornan  v. State of Kerala    JT 1994  (6) SC 182; AIR 1994 SC 1012 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"ftn2\">\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftn2\"> (2) <\/a> Mithilesh Kumari V.  Prem Behari Khare, AIR 1989 SC 1247<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"ftn3\">\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftn3\"> (3) <\/a> 1989 Ker 317 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"ftn4\">\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftn4\"> (4) <\/a> Principles of  Statutory Interpretation by Justice G. P. Singh Seventh Edition page 369  referring to number of decisions. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"ftn5\">\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftn5\"> (5) <\/a> 1989 (1) S.C.R. 621<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"ftn6\">\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\" title=\"\" id=\"_ftn6\"> (6) <\/a> AIR 1996 SC 238<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<table width=\"103%\" border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"5\" cellspacing=\"0\" bgcolor=\"#FFFFCC\">\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Disclaimer: <\/strong>The  contents of this document are solely for informational purpose. It does not  constitute professional advice or a formal recommendation. While due care has  been taken in preparing this document, the existence of mistakes and omissions  herein is not ruled out. Neither the author nor itatonline.org and its  affiliates accepts any liabilities for any loss or damage of any kind arising  out of any inaccurate or incomplete information in this document nor for any  actions taken in reliance thereon. No part of this document should be  distributed or copied (except for personal, non-commercial use) without  express written permission of itatonline.org<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The question as to whether the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, as amended by the Benami  Transactions (Prohibitions) Amendment Act, 2016, is prospective or retrospective is of vital importance to the several proceedings which are presently pending before the authorities. CA. Pankaj Agrwal has applied his mind to all the arguments and counter-arguments advanced by the contesting parties and expressed his opinion on the topic<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/benami-law-as-amended-whether-retroactive\/\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7883\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}