Section 65 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988: Transfer of Pending Cases
Section 65 deals with the transfer of certain pending suits and proceedings concerning benami transactions to the statutory authorities created under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988. The provision was inserted as part of the substantial changes made by the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, which took effect from 1 November 2016.
- Pending benami suits or proceedings before a court other than a High Court, a Tribunal or another forum are transferred to the competent Adjudicating Authority or Appellate Tribunal, as applicable.
- The transferring court, Tribunal or forum must forward the case records after transfer.
- The Adjudicating Authority may continue from the existing stage, return to an earlier stage, or proceed de novo where considered appropriate.
- The procedure under Section 65(2)(b) is linked to a reference under Section 24(5) of the Act.
Current statutory text of Section 65
65. Transfer of pending cases.
(1) Every suit or proceeding in respect of a benami transaction pending in any Court (other than a High Court) or Tribunal or before any forum on the date of the commencement of this Act shall stand transferred to the Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Tribunal, as the case may be, having jurisdiction in the matter.
(2) Where any suit, or other proceeding stands transferred to the Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Tribunal under sub-section (1), -
(a) the court, Tribunal or other forum shall, as soon as may be, after the transfer, forward the records of the suit, or other proceeding to the Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Tribunal, as the case may be;
(b) the Adjudicating Authority may, on receipt of the records, proceed to deal with the suit, or other proceeding, so far as may be, in the same manner as in the case of a reference made under sub-section (5) of section 24, from the stage which was reached before the transfer or from any earlier stage or de novo as the Adjudicating Authority may deem fit.
The consolidated Act should always be checked on the official India Code website before relying on the provision for litigation, filing or professional advice.
What Section 65 means
Section 65 is a transitional and procedural provision. Its purpose is to ensure that proceedings concerning benami transactions that were pending before specified courts, Tribunals or other forums are moved into the specialised statutory framework under the Act rather than continuing before an authority that no longer has the intended role under the amended scheme.
Which pending cases are covered?
Section 65(1) applies to a suit or proceeding concerning a benami transaction that was pending before a court other than a High Court, a Tribunal or another forum on the relevant commencement date. The case stands transferred to the Adjudicating Authority or the Appellate Tribunal having jurisdiction, depending on the nature and stage of the matter.
What happens after transfer?
Under Section 65(2)(a), the transferring court, Tribunal or forum is required to forward the records of the suit or proceeding to the Adjudicating Authority or Appellate Tribunal, as the case may be. This enables the receiving authority to continue with the matter on the basis of the existing record.
Section 65(2)(b) gives the Adjudicating Authority procedural flexibility. After receiving the records, it may deal with the transferred proceeding in substantially the same manner as a reference under Section 24(5). It may continue from the stage already reached, resume from an earlier stage, or proceed de novo.
Meaning of important expressions
Adjudicating Authority
Under Section 2 of the Act, the expression "Adjudicating Authority" refers to the Adjudicating Authority referred to in Section 7. It is the statutory authority that adjudicates matters within the framework of the Act.
Appellate Tribunal
The Act defines the "Appellate Tribunal" as the Appellate Tribunal established under Section 30. It hears appeals and performs the appellate functions assigned to it by the Act.
Benami transaction
Section 2(9) contains the detailed statutory definition of a "benami transaction". Broadly, the definition covers specified transactions or arrangements in which property is held by one person while consideration is provided by another for the benefit of the person providing the consideration, subject to statutory exceptions and additional categories expressly included in the definition.
Section 24(5)
Section 24 forms part of the statutory procedure for notice and provisional attachment in relation to property alleged to be benami. Section 65(2)(b) specifically directs that a transferred proceeding may, so far as possible, be dealt with in the same manner as a reference made under Section 24(5).
Why Section 65 is important
The section supports continuity of proceedings after the 2016 restructuring of the benami law. Instead of requiring every transferred matter to start automatically from the beginning, it allows the competent authority to adopt the stage most suitable to the case. This preserves procedural flexibility while bringing pending matters within the adjudication and appellate structure established under the amended Act.
Official legal resources
For the current consolidated central legislation, refer to the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 on India Code. India Code is maintained as an official Government of India legislative database.
For continuity with the surrounding provisions on this website, see Section 64 - Protection of action taken in good faith and Section 66 - Proceedings against legal representative.