In a significant ruling, a quasi-judicial body has upheld the Income Tax (I-T) department's ability to attach properties under the anti-benami law even if the actual owner of the property is not identified. The ruling, issued by the Adjudicating Authority set up under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions (PBPT) Act, 1988, confirms that the law provides a mechanism to deal with cases where the actual owners or the person who paid for the property cannot be traced.

The decision relates to an ongoing case in which the Lucknow unit of the Income Tax department attached several properties in the Kakori area of Lucknow, valued at over Rs 3.47 crore, in 2023. These properties were purchased by real estate groups using large amounts of unaccounted cash, a common sign of benami transactions, where the property is held in someone else's name but the true owner is different.