SSC
The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act was first enacted by Parliament in the year:
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Answer: Option C — 1988
Detailed Solution
The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act was enacted by Parliament in 1988 to prohibit benami transactions and to give the government the right to recover property held benami.
Meaning of "benami":
- The word "benami" literally means "without a name".
- A benami transaction is one in which property is held by or transferred to one person, while the consideration (the price) is paid by another person, who is the real owner.
- Such transactions were widely used to hide black money and to avoid taxes and land ceiling laws.
Main features of the original Act:
- It prohibited entering into benami transactions.
- It provided that property held benami could be acquired by the government without compensation.
- It made benami transactions punishable with imprisonment, a fine or both.
- Some transactions were excluded, such as property held in the name of a spouse or an unmarried daughter and bought from known sources of income.
Weaknesses of the original Act:
- There was no proper authority or procedure for the confiscation of benami property.
- As a result, the Act remained largely ineffective for almost three decades.
The 2016 amendment:
- The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 came into force on 1 November 2016.
- It renamed the law as the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act.
- It widened the definition of benami transactions and set up Initiating Officers, Approving Authorities, an Adjudicating Authority and an Appellate Tribunal.
- It provided for rigorous imprisonment of one to seven years and a fine of up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the property.
Supreme Court ruling:
In 2022, in the Ganpati Dealcom case, the Supreme Court held that the stricter provisions of the 2016 amendment cannot be applied to transactions made before it came into force.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1976, 1995 and 2002 are not the years of the Benami Act; 2002 is the year of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Quick tip
Remember: Benami Act = 1988; amended in 2016 and renamed the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act.
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Miscellaneous GK — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Miscellaneous GK, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic collects general knowledge questions that do not fit neatly into a single category, such as national symbols, famous nicknames of places, important events, entertainment, and facts that cut across history, geography and culture. Because these questions come from many areas, the best preparation is broad revision and regular practice. Read each explanation carefully, since it often includes a related fact that is tested in a different form. Keep a notebook of facts you get wrong and revise it before the exam. Practise the miscellaneous GK questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.