PIL In Supreme Court Seeks Confiscation Of Benami Properties, Black Money And Disproportionate Assets

1. SUMMARY

• A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to ascertain the feasibility of confiscating black money, benami properties and disproportionate assets.

• The Petition sought life imprisonment for offences such as bribery, black money, benami property, tax evasion, money laundering, profiteering, grain hoarding, food adulteration, human and drug trafficking, black marketing and cheating.

• To reduce the injury caused to people is extremely large because corruption is an insidious plague, having a wide range of corrosive effects on society.

• PPutting forth a solution-oriented approach, the plea states that as the total budget of Centre, States and local bodies is around 70 lac crores, howeverdue to massive corruption in every department, around 10 per cent of the budget becomes black money." In this context, the PIL avers that the Centre can save this huge public money by recalling currency above Rs. 100, restricting cash transaction above Rs. 5000, linking assets above Rs. 50,000 with AADHAAR, confiscating 100% black money, benami property, disproportionate assets and awarding life imprisonment to looters.

2. OBJECTIVE

• The petition was filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay in view of corruption watchdog Transparency International placing India at 80 in Corruption Perception Index earlier this year.

• Upadhyay contends that the injury caused to people is extremely large because corruption is insidious plague, having wide range of corrosive effects on society.

• UUpadhyay in his PIL made all the State Government, Centre & the UTs & others as parties, and respondents.

3. ISSUES HIGHLIGHTED IN SC

• Due to weak and ineffective anti-corruption laws, India has never been ranked even among top the 50 in the Corruption Perception Index but the Centre has not strengthened the laws to weed-out the menace of corruption, which brazenly offends rule of law as well as right to life, liberty and dignity guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21.

• Also, Due to the weak and ineffective anti-corruption laws, none of the welfare schemes and government departments are free from corruption

• "The right to live happily with dignity is guaranteed under Article 21 but due to massive corruption, our ranking in Happiness Index is very low," the petition, filed through advocate Ashwini Kumar Dubey, said.

• It claimed that corruption has devastating effects on right to life, liberty, dignity, and it badly affects social and economic justice, fraternity, dignity of individual, unity and national integration, thus offends fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21.

• IIt undermines democracy and rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes quality of life and allows organized crimes like separatism, terrorism, naxalism, radicalism, gambling, smuggling, kidnapping, money laundering and extortion, and other threats to human security to flourish.

• It added that the corruption hurts EWS-BPL families disproportionately by diverting the funds intended for development, undermines government's ability to provide basic services, seeds inequality and injustice, and discourages foreign aids and investment