Asked Delhi government to defend plea for linking property with Aadhaar: Centre tells HC

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The Centre on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that it has asked the Delhi government to contest 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. Central government counsel urged a bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, which was hearing public interest litigation by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, to ask the Delhi government to accordingly file its formal response to the issue.

The bench, also comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad, granted four weeks to the Delhi government to file a detailed affidavit and listed the case for further consideration on November 30. When I sought instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs they issued this letter dated March 10, 2022, saying the Delhi government will contest this matter. In view of this letter, let them file a formal affidavit, central government lawyer Manish Mohan informed the court.

I am directed to forward herewith an Office Memorandum .received from Legislative Department of Ministry of Law & Justice on the subject cited above and to request you to defend the petition on the behalf of Union of India (Ministry of Home Affairs) also, said the letter written by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to the Delhi government. In an affidavit filed in the matter in 2019, the Delhi government has said that 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.

Upadhyay on Wednesday submitted that the present case concerned an important matter and if the Aadhaar of citizens is linked with their properties, corruption would reduce by 25 per cent while claiming that The Prime Minister has publically spoken about linking property with Aadhaar. He also requested the court to issue notice to certain other ministries mentioned in the MHA letter, including Ministries of Law, Housing & Urban Development, and Finance.

The court granted time to the petitioner to implead these ministries as parties to the petition. Upadhyay has said in his plea it is the duty of the state to take appropriate steps to curb corruption and seize 'Benami' properties made by illegal means to give a strong message that the government is determined to fight against corruption and black money generation.

"If the government links property with Aadhaar, it will lead to an increment of 2 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 -- terrorism, naxalism, separatism, gambling, money laundering, and bribing.

"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 great extent by linking movable-immovable properties with the owner's Aadhaar number," it has further claimed.