By
Vijay Pal Dalmia, Advocate
Supreme Court of India & Delhi High Court
Email Id: vpdalmia@vaishlaw.com
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The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of Bhim Singh vs. Kaan Singh AIR 1980 (SC), laid down the following principles for deciding whether a transaction is benami or not:-

  1. The burden of showing that the transfer is a benami transaction lies on the person who asserts that it is such a transaction.
  2. If it is provided that the purchase money came from a person other than the person in whose favour the property is transferred, the purchase is prima facie assumed to be for the benefit of the person who supplied the purchase money, unless there is evidence to the contrary;
  3. The true character of the transaction is governed by the intention of the person who has contributed the purchase money and
  4. The question as to what his intention was has to be decided on the basis of the surrounding circumstances, the relationship of the parties, the motives governing their action in bringing about the transaction and their subsequent conduct etc.

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