Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988

Section 72 - Repeal and Saving

Section 72 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 deals with the repeal of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition of the Right to Recover Property) Ordinance, 1988 and preserves the legal effect of acts and actions already taken under that Ordinance.

Current legal position: Section 72 was originally Section 9 of the 1988 Act. It was renumbered as Section 72 by Section 11 of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, with effect from 1 November 2016. The provision now forms part of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988.

Text of Section 72: Repeal and saving

(1) The Benami Transactions (Prohibition of the Right to Recover Property) Ordinance, 1988 (Ord. 2 of 1988) is hereby repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act.

Meaning of "repeal and saving"

A repeal provision formally withdraws an earlier law or temporary legislative instrument. A saving clause prevents the repeal from undoing valid acts, decisions, proceedings or other legal steps that were already taken under the repealed law.

In Section 72, Parliament repealed the 1988 Ordinance but expressly protected actions taken under it. As a result, an act lawfully done under the Ordinance is treated as having been done under the corresponding provision of the 1988 Act.

Legal effect of Section 72

The 1988 Ordinance stood repealed.
The repeal did not invalidate lawful acts or actions already taken under that Ordinance.
Such earlier acts are deemed to have been done under the corresponding provisions of the Act.
The saving clause preserves legal continuity between the Ordinance and the enacted legislation.

Why Section 72 is numbered this way

The original Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 contained this repeal-and-saving clause as Section 9. The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 substantially expanded and reorganized the 1988 Act. Section 11 of the 2016 Amendment Act renumbered the former Section 9 as Section 72 with effect from 1 November 2016.

Accordingly, the correct present reference is Section 72 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, as amended.

Official statutory source

The current Central Act is available on the Government of India's India Code portal. For legal research, always check the latest official text, amendment notes and notifications before relying on a provision in a proceeding or opinion.

View the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 on India Code

Related provisions

Section 72 should be read in the context of the closing provisions of the Act, including Section 68 - Power to make rules, Section 69 - Laying of rules and notifications before Parliament, Section 70 - Power to remove difficulties, and Section 71 - Transitional provision.

Last reviewed and updated: 14 September 2026.