Delhi HC Asks Centre, Delhi Govt To Decide On Linking Properties To Aadhaar

New Delhi [India] : The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Centre, Delhi government and the authorities concerned to take a decision on a public interest litigation (PIL) praying to link Aadhaar with property documents.

The bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdhar and Justice Girish Kathpalia asked the respondents to decide within three months on the plea moved by BJP Leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay sought direction to link movable and immovable property documents of citizens with their Aadhaar numbers. The court asked the respondents (authorities) to treat the plea as representation and decide it within three months.

Earlier, the predecessor bench had impleaded the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Ministry of Rural Development and Ministry of Law as parties in the matter while granting more time to the Delhi government and the Home Ministry to clear their stand on a plea. Earlier, the court, while issuing a notice to the respondents, also asked the petitioner to amend the petition and add more ministries concerned in the matter.

The petitioner, Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a BJP Leader, sought direction to the central government and the Delhi government to take appropriate steps to link movable and immovable property documents of citizens with their Aadhaar number to curb corruption, black money generation and benami transactions.

“If the government links property with Aadhaar, it will lead to an increment of 2% in annual growth. It will clean our electoral process, which is dominated by black money and benami transactions and thrives on a cycle of large black investments, the capture of power through foul means, use of political strength to amass private wealth, all with disdain for citizens,” the plea stated.

“India has numerous legislations but fails miserably in implementing them. The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, passed in 1988 was gathering dust without any action. Though the present government added more teeth to it by amending it (Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amended Act, 2016), activities to catch benami properties are still going on slowly, stated the plea.

Therefore, it is duty of the state to take apposite steps to curb corruption and seize the benami properties made by illegal means to give a strong message that the government is determined to fight against corruption and black money generation. Executive action should be taken to warn the corrupt that betrayal of the public trust will no longer be tolerated and to reaffirm the rule of law and transparency,” the plea read.