Genuine issue but we can't amend law: Supreme Court on plea to transfer appeals in benami matters to ITAT

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking transfer of appellate jurisdiction over benami transaction matters to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT). [Parveen Kumar Bansal v. Union of India]

A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said that although the petitioner had raised a genuine issue, the relief sought would effectively require the Court to amend the law.

"The problem is understandable. You have a genuine issue. But you are asking us to amend the law concerned. You are asking indirectly,” the Court remarked.

The petition was filed by Parveen Kumar Bansal, a former Vice-President of the ITAT. Counsel for Bansal argued that the ITAT was a specialised forum dealing with income tax disputes and was better equipped to decide matters under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 (PBPT Act).

The Bench, however, indicated that transferring an entire category of disputes from one tribunal to another involved multiple considerations and was a matter of legislative policy.

The Court urged the petitioner to make a representation before the government. Counsel informed the Bench that such a representation had already been submitted. He requested a direction for it to be decided within a fixed period.

The petition sought transfer of jurisdiction under the PBPT Act from the Appellate Tribunal constituted under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA) to the ITAT. In the alternative, it sought the creation of regional benches to hear benami appeals.

Bansal argued that the present Appellate Tribunal functions through a single bench in New Delhi. Litigants, lawyers, chartered accountants, witnesses and government officers from across India are consequently required to travel to the national capital for hearings.

The plea relied on a February 2026 Right to Information reply stating that 3,683 benami appeals were pending as of January 1. The SAFEMA Tribunal’s overall pendency under the various statutes administered by it stood at 12,834 cases.

Between 2018 and 2025, 5,902 benami appeals were filed, while 2,219 were disposed of. Annual filings increased from 212 in 2018 to 1,646 in 2025.

The petition contended that benami disputes usually involve financial records, accounting entries and transactions first examined during income-tax proceedings. It pointed out that the ITAT has 63 benches across more than 30 cities and possesses specialised expertise in tax and accounting disputes.

The petition was drawn by Advocate Samarvir Singh and filed through Advocate-on-Record Naman Tandon.