PART V
AMENDMENTS TO THE PROHIBITION OF BENAMI PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS ACT, 1988
Amendment of Act 45 of 1988.
152. In the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, with effect from the 1st day of April, 2023,––
(a) in section 2, in clause (18),––
(I) in sub-clause (i), the word “and” occurring at the end shall be omitted;
(II) in sub-clause (ii), the word “and” shall be inserted at the end;
(III) after clause (ii), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:––
“(iii) the High Court within the jurisdiction of which the office of the Initiating Officer is located,––
(a) where the aggrieved party does not ordinarily reside or carry on business or personally work for gain in the jurisdiction of any High Court;
(b) where the Government is the aggrieved party and any of the respondents do not ordinarily reside or carry on business or personally work for gain in the jurisdiction of any High Court;”;
(b) in section 46,––
(i) in sub-section (1), for the words “of the order”, the words “on which such order is received by the Initiating Officer or received by such person,” shall be substituted;
(ii) in sub-section (1A), for the words “of that order”, the words “on which such order is received by such person” shall be substituted.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 152 of the Bill seeks to amend sections 2 and 46 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988.
Clause (18) of section 2 provides the definition of High Court.
It is proposed to amend the said clause to provide that where the aggrieved party does not ordinarily reside or carry on business or personally work for gain within the jurisdiction of any High Court; and where the Government being the aggrieved party, any of the respondents do not ordinarily reside or carry on business or personally work for gain within the jurisdiction of any High Court, the High Court shall be the High Court within the jurisdiction of which, the office of the Initiating Officer is located.
It is further proposed to amend sub-sections (1) and (1A) of section 46 to provide that the aggrieved persons including the Initiating Officer shall file appeal against the order of the Adjudicating Authority within a period of forty-five days from the date on which the order was received by the Initiating Officer or by such person, instead of forty-five days from the date of the order.
These amendments will take effect from 1st April, 2023.
