Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 8

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Haryana, UT Adviser and Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, to take a decision on linking all property transactions with Aadhaar number.

For the purpose, the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu set a month’s deadline. The direction came on a petition filed in public interest by Nikhil Saraf against the Union Government and other respondents.

Appearing before the Bench, counsel Pawan Kumar Mutneja submitted that the petitioner had already made four representations for redressal of his grievances to the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana, besides Administrator of Union Territory, Chandigarh, and the Union Government.

Taking a note of the submissions, Acting Chief Justice Sharma on behalf of the Bench disposed of the petition after directing the respondents to decide the representations by passing a speaking/ detailed order.

The petitioner was seeking identification, segregation and confiscation of benami properties in the states amassed through ill-gotten wealth. It was submitted that corruption was the source of benami transactions and black money generation. It was an insidious plague that had wide range of corrosive effects on the country and undermined democracy and rule of law, he said.