Case Details: Smt. Radhamani A. vs. ACIT - [2026] 184 taxmann.com 7 (SAFEMA-New Delhi)
Judiciary and Counsel Details
- Balesh Kumar & Rajesh Malhotra, Member
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Paulose C. Abraham, Adv. for the Appellant.
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Rishabh Bhardwaj, Ajay Kumar, Advs. & Kanhaiya Singhal, SPP for the Respondent.
Facts of the Case
The appellant, alleged as a benamidar, purchased the property in May 2017 for about Rs. 9.09 lakhs. The Initiating Officer provisionally attached the property under section 24(4) of the PBPT Act alleging a benami transaction under section 2(9)(A). The appellant challenged the attachment, asserting she was the true owner and that there was no identified beneficial owner.
The Adjudicating Authority, after issuing notice and hearing both sides, confirmed the provisional attachment and held the property to be benami, treating the appellant as benamidar. However, it did not conclusively hold Shri M.K. Rajendran Pillai as the beneficial owner for want of conclusive material. It was observed that further investigation was needed to identify the beneficial owner.
ITAT Held
On appeal, the Tribunal held that the beneficial owner Sh. MK Rajendran Pillai amassed the huge wealth while working as Additional Superintendent of police in the State of Nagaland, and after retirement, he obtained a large number of contracts through the benamidars, i.e., local Naga persons, in order to procure contracts, as only Nagas were entitled to the same.
Thereafter, Sh. MK Rajendran Pillai diverted the funds from the said Naga benamidar to his family members, friends and their companies/firms in the State of Kerala and other States, for building his empire and making investments in various business activities, including the company managed by his son Sh. Arun Pillai, MD of M/s Rajavalsam Motors Pvt. Ltd.
Therefore, technically, not only Sh. MK Rajendran Pillai is the beneficial owner, but his son and his company are also joint beneficial owners in the present transaction pertaining to impugned property, as the sale consideration was tendered by the appellant through M/s Rajavalsam Motors Pvt. Ltd.
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