Keywords: Benami Property, Calcutta High Court, Benami transaction, Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty, Justice Partha Sarthi Chatterjee
According to the Calcutta High Court, property purchased in a wife’s name “cannot necessarily” be considered a benami transaction.
“In Indian society, if a husband supplies money for acquiring property in his wife’s name, this does not necessarily imply a benami transaction.” The source of money is, with no doubt, an important factor, but it is not a decisive one,” stated a division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Partha Sarthi Chatterjee in a ruling issued last week.[1]
The court was considering a case in which a son involved in a family asset dispute claimed his late father gave his mother a Benami property.
The son had failed to prove his charge, according to the HC. The court stated that proving that a transfer is a benami transaction always rests on the person asserting it.
According to the court, two types of benami transactions are usually recognized: the first type involves a person purchasing a property with his own money but in the name of another person with no purpose of benefiting the other person.[2]
The second form, known colloquially as a “benami transaction,” occurs when the owner of the property executes a deed of conveyance in favour of someone without intending to transfer title to the property. “In the latter case, the transferor continues to be the real owner,” the court stated.[3]
Written by- Satyanshu Sharma, College name- Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala, Semester- 2nd, An intern under Legal Vidhiya
[1] TIMES OF INDIA, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/buying-property-in-wifes-name-cant-always-be-called-benami-hc/articleshow/100923978.cms?from=mdr (last visited on 13th June, 2023).
[2] LATEST LAWS, https://www.latestlaws.com/latest-news/property-bought-in-wife-s-name-not-necessarily-benami-transaction-always-rules-hc-200568/ (last visited on 13th June, 2023).
[3] LIVE LAW, https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/calcutta-high-court/calcutta-high-court-divorce-property-benami-transaction-dismissed-appeal-230316 (last visited on 13th June, 2023).
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