The Delhi High Court, presided over by Justices Rajiv Shakdhar and Girish Kathpalia, has directed the Centre, Delhi government, and relevant authorities to reach a decision on a public interest litigation advocating the linking of Aadhaar with property documents. The bench instructed the respondents to resolve the matter within three months.
The plea, filed by BJP Leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, sought a directive to connect both movable and immovable property documents with Aadhaar numbers. Treating the plea as a representation, the court mandated a decision within the specified three-month period.
Earlier, a bench had included the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Ministry of Rural Development, and Ministry of Law as parties, granting additional time for the Delhi government and the Home Ministry to articulate their stance. The court, in a prior notice to the respondents, also directed the petitioner to amend the petition by involving more relevant ministries.
Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the petitioner and BJP Leader, urged the central and Delhi governments to take measures to link property documents with citizens’ Aadhaar numbers to combat corruption, black money generation, and benami transactions. The plea highlighted the potential benefits, stating that linking property with Aadhaar could lead to a 2% increase in annual growth and clean up the electoral process plagued by black money and benami transactions. The petitioner emphasized the inadequacy of India’s implementation of legislation, citing the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act of 1988.