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    Aadhaar-property linking not an easy road: Experts

    Synopsis

    The Supreme Court in September last year had upheld the Constitutional validity of Aadhaar, making it a legal proof of identity and address for over 1.2 billion holders.

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    (This story originally appeared in on Nov 20, 2019)
    PUNE: Mandatory Aadhaar-property linking can become a reality only after necessary changes are introduced in the Aadhaar Act without conflicting the Supreme Court ruling on the subject, experts stressed.

    There have been reports that the Centre is in final stages of bringing in a law to make Aadhaar-property linking mandatory to weed out ‘benami’ (proxy) transactions and increase transparency, among others. “For this to happen, Aadhaar Act needs to be revisited and the SC’s consent will also be required,” an expert said.

    The Supreme Court in September last year had upheld the Constitutional validity of Aadhaar, making it a legal proof of identity and address for over 1.2 billion holders. However, the apex court had scrapped certain key provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, to protect privacy and data breach.

    As per the SC ruling, private entities, such as telecom operators, banks, educational institutes and other players, were barred from seeking mandatory Aadhaar details of individuals for providing various services. “While Aadhaar would remain crucial for carrying out property transactions, one has to wait and watch as to how it can be possible to make it mandatory,’‘ a property developer said.

    Many states have already introduced Aadhaar-verified property registration after making due changes in the Registration Act rules. In case of Maharashtra, Aadhaar-linked registration was brought in to avoid the need of witnesses at the time of registration.

    “Homebuyers can use their Aadhaar card for property registration without producing two witnesses to carry out the transaction. Those who appear at the sub-registrar’s office without the Aadhaar card would, however, have to come with the two witnesses,” a revenue department official said while citing the amended rules of the Registration Act.

    The official, however, reiterated that Aadhaar was not mandatory for property registration yet in the state. “Land is a state subject and a central law or a high court judgment cannot be binding on other states. For a change like this, the Supreme Court judgment on Aadhaar would have to be revisited,” another revenue department official said.

    Credai vice-president Shantilal Kataria said if Aadhaar-property linking was made mandatory, it would usher in transparency and ease of doing business, among others. “It will also help in detecting immovable properties of individuals, if this change is brought in,” Kataria added.

    Developers said the move would also encourage serious investors to look at sizable and long-term investments in the residential sector, thus, giving it a push in terms of supply.

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    (Your legal guide on estate planning, inheritance, will and more.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    ...more
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