UNION OF INDIA vs M/S. GANPATI DEALCOM PVT. LTD. — MA

Summary of Supreme Court Hearing Record Case: Union of India & Ors. v. M/S. Ganpati Dealcom Pvt. Ltd. Citation: Civil Appeal No. 5783 of 2022 (arising from SLP(C) No. 2784/2020) What Happened The Supreme Court heard and decided a landmark case on the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 (as amended in 2016), specifically addressing whether the 2016 amendments apply retroactively to benami transactions entered into before November 1, 2016. Key Outcome The Court ordered that: 1. Criminal provisions (Section 3) of the 1988 Act are unconstitutional and cannot be applied to transactions before the 2016 Amendment 2. Confiscation proceedings (Section 5) under the 2016 Act can only apply prospectively (from November 1, 2016 onwards), not retroactively 3. All criminal prosecutions and confiscation proceedings for pre-2016 transactions must be quashed 4. The 2016 Amendment was substantive, not merely procedural, introducing new offences and stricter liability standards Next Steps - All pending prosecutions for benami transactions before November 1, 2016 are to be terminated - Civil consequences under Section 4 of the 1988 Act (bar on enforcement of property rights) remain applicable to all transactions - The Court left open the constitutionality of independent forfeiture proceedings under the 2016 Act to be examined in future cases This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.