TULSIRAM Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The challenge in the present writ petition is to the order of provisional attachment of immovable properties Annexure P-1 dated 31.07.2019 under Section 24(4)(b)(i) of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 (in short "the Act of 1988") and also to the notice Annexure P-2 dated 27.08.2019 under Section 24 (5) of the said Act in respect of confirmation of the order of provisional attachment dated 31.07.2019 Annexure P-1.

(2.) The core issue raised by the petitioners in the present writ petition is "whether the provisions of the Act of 1988 providing for confiscation of properties found to be 'Benami' could be applied in respect of the transactions carried out prior to 01.11.2016".

(3.) The brief facts which led to the filing of the present writ petition are that the respondents have initiated a proceeding under the Act of 1988 against the petitioners who are husband and wife. It is alleged that the petitioners are in possession of more than 200 acres of land in Tahsil Pithora in villages Patewa, Jhalap, Lahrod, Barekel and in village Baya (Kasdol) and also in village Sankara, Basana and Bagbahara. According to the respondents, all these properties in fact are of one Shri Laxminarayan Agrawal @ Punnu Seth Son of Jagannath Agrawal R/o Pithora, District Mahasamund (CG). According to the respondents, the petitioners herein are basically villagers who do not have sufficient source of income to have such large chunk of land. As per the notice and the order of the respondents, on verification, it was found that the petitioners could not provide sufficient details in respect of their income on the basis of which they had acquired or purchased these properties. According to the respondents, the petitioners have not been able to show or recollect the details of the properties that they own in different villages. The petitioners have also not been able to provide the details of the loan that they had taken from different relatives or friends for the purpose of purchase of these properties and therefore the said properties are nothing but Benami properties.