Section 70 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988: Power to Remove Difficulties
Section 70 authorises the Central Government to make a limited removal-of-difficulties order when a practical difficulty arises in giving effect to the Act. Any such order must be published in the Official Gazette, must remain consistent with the Act, and must be laid before each House of Parliament.
The statute is now titled the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 (PBPT Act). The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 substantially amended the 1988 Act and the relevant amended provisions came into force on 1 November 2016. Section 70 forms part of the consolidated PBPT Act.
What does Section 70 mean?
A removal-of-difficulties clause is a limited enabling provision. It allows the Central Government to address implementation problems that arise while giving effect to the statute. It does not permit the Government to amend the Act through an executive order or to make a provision inconsistent with Parliament's enactment.
Section 70 contains three safeguards: the order must be published in the Official Gazette; the power is subject to a two-year statutory time limit; and every order made under the section must be placed before both Houses of Parliament.
Section 70: Statutory text
70. Power to remove difficulties.
(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government may, by order, published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as may appear to be necessary for removing the difficulty.
(2) No order shall be made under this section after the expiry of two years from the commencement of this Act.
(3) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament.
Key requirements under Section 70
- Actual implementation difficulty: the power is tied to a difficulty in giving effect to the Act.
- Central Government order: the power is exercisable by the Central Government through an order.
- Official Gazette publication: the order must be published in the Official Gazette.
- No inconsistency with the Act: a removal-of-difficulties order cannot override or contradict the statutory scheme.
- Two-year limitation: sub-section (2) expressly prevents an order under Section 70 after expiry of the statutory two-year period.
- Parliamentary oversight: every such order must be laid before each House of Parliament as soon as may be after it is made.
Commencement and the two-year restriction
The Central Government appointed 1 November 2016 as the date on which the provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 came into force. Section 70, introduced into the restructured law through the 2016 amendment, expressly limits the removal-of-difficulties power to the statutory two-year period stated in sub-section (2).
Section 70 should be cited today as Section 70 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988. Referring to it only as a section of the 2016 Amendment Act can be misleading because the 2016 legislation amended and renamed the principal 1988 Act.
Related provisions
Section 68 concerns the Central Government's power to make rules, Section 69 deals with laying rules and notifications before Parliament, Section 71 contains a transitional provision, and Section 72 contains the repeal and saving provision. These neighbouring sections help place Section 70 within the Act's machinery for implementation and transition.