Delhi HC requests Centre, Delhi govt to decide on linking properties to Aadhaar

In a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to link Aadhaar with property documents, the Delhi High Court on Thursday requested that the Center, the Delhi government, and the relevant authorities make a decision. The BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay filed a plea seeking a directive to link citizens’ movable and immovable property documents to their Aadhaar numbers. The bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdhar and Girish Kathpalia ordered the respondents to make a decision on the matter within three months. Within three months, the respondents (authorities) were asked by the court to consider the plea as representation and make a decision.

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.

In order to stop corruption, the creation of black money, and benami transactions, the petitioner, BJP leader Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, asked the federal government and the Delhi government to take the necessary action and link citizens’ movable and immovable property documents with their Aadhaar numbers.

“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.