The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Centre to
file reply on a plea seeking linking of immovable and movable property
documents of citizens with their Aadhaar numbers to curb corruption, black
money generation, and 'benami' transactions.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and
Justice Yashwant Varma granted four weeks to the ministries of Finance, Law,
Housing and Urban Affairs and Rural Development to file their responses to the
petition.
The bench, which orally observed that it a good
matter and let replies come, listed the matter for further hearing on July 18.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General
Chetan Sharma along with Central government standing counsel Manish Mohan,
representing the Centre, termed the issue as an important one.
Petitioner and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay said it is
the duty of the state to take appropriate steps to curb corruption and seize
'benami' properties amassed by illegal means to give a strong message that the
government is determined to fight corruption and black money generation.
"If the government links property with Aadhaar,
it will lead to an increment of two per cent in annual growth. It will clean
out electoral process, which is dominated by black money and benami transaction
and thrives on a cycle of large black investments...use of political strength
to amass private wealth, all with disdain of the citizen," the petition
has said.
The plea has claimed that 'benami' transaction in
high denomination currency is used in illegal activities like terrorism,
naxalism, gambling, money laundering etc.
"It also inflates the price of essential
commodities as well as major assets like real estate and gold. These problems
can be curbed up to a great extent by linking movable-immovable properties with
the owner's Aadhaar number," it has further claimed.
In an affidavit filed in the matter in 2019, the
Delhi government has said Aadhaar is accepted as proof of identity for property
registration and land mutation, but it is only an optional requirement and
there is no provision in the law making it mandatory.