SHANMUGA PATRO Vs. MINISTRY OF FINANCE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition filed in public interest seeks a direction to the respondent to appoint Competent Authority contemplated in Section 5 of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 and to frame Rules in relation to the procedure to be adopted by the said Authority for acquiring benami properties. It is the plea of the petitioner that notwithstanding the law having been enacted more than 20 years back in 1988, it has been allowed to remain toothless.

(2.) Notice of the petition was issued and a counter affidavit has been filed stating that during the process of formulating the Rules, it was found that owing to the grave infirmities in the legislation, it would not be possible to formulate the Rules without a comprehensive legislation by repealing the Act; that the new legislation has been introduced in the Parliament in the form of Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill, 2011; that the lacunas in the law could not be filled merely by framing the Rules.

(3.) We have heard the counsel for the parties.