Bajrang Traders Vs Initiating Officer (Appellate Tribunal Under SAFEMA Delhi)
The decision rendered by the Appellate Tribunal under SAFEMA, New Delhi, in M/s Bajrang Traders v. Initiating Officer, BPU, Ahmedabad, decided on 10 December 2025, is a significant exposition of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, particularly in the context of demonetisation-era cash conversion and routing of funds through dummy bank accounts. The ruling provides authoritative clarity on the interpretation of key statutory definitions, the scope and content of “reasons to believe” under section 24(1), and the permissibility of reliance on material gathered by the Income-tax Department while initiating benami proceedings.
At the threshold, it is necessary to appreciate the definitional architecture of the 1988 Act, which forms the foundation of the entire adjudicatory exercise. Section 2(9) defines a “benami transaction” as a transaction or arrangement where property is transferred to or held by one person, but the consideration for such property is provided, or paid, by another person, and the property is held for the immediate or future benefit, direct or indirect, of the person who has provided the consideration. The essence of the definition lies not merely in the form of ownership, but in the separation between the person in whose name the property stands and the person who actually funds and benefits from it. The Act thus embodies a substance-over-form principle, designed to penetrate colourable arrangements and identify the real economic owner.
