Benami transaction analysis confirms provisional attachment where property was bought in another's name with traced consideration and no credible loan proof.

Consideration traced to one person, property acquired in another's name, and the surrounding records showed no credible independent funding, loan documentation, or other statutory exception. On those facts, the arrangement satisfied the ingredients of a benami transaction under Section 2(9)(A) of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, because the property was held for the future benefit of the person who supplied the consideration. A later partnership arrangement did not displace those ingredients where the initial acquisition remained unsupported by evidence. The provisional attachment was therefore confirmed.

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Issues: Whether the transfer of consideration into the bank account of the benamidar, followed by purchase of the property in his name and subsequent arrangement in the partnership, constituted a benami transaction within Section 2(9)(A) of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, justifying confirmation of provisional attachment.

Analysis: The transfer of funds was traced to the beneficial owner, while the benamidar did not establish any independent source for purchasing the property or produce documentary proof of any genuine loan arrangement. The sequence of payments, the registration of the property in the benamidar's name, and the absence of supporting records for the alleged loan or collaboration showed that the consideration came from another person and the property was held for that person's future benefit. The subsequent partnership arrangement did not displace the statutory ingredients already made out on the record. A commercial arrangement does not cease to be benami merely because it is asserted to be connected with a business venture.

Conclusion: The transaction was held to be benami and the confirmation of provisional attachment was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Where consideration for property is provided by one person, the property is taken in another's name, and the surrounding facts show future benefit to the provider of consideration, the transaction falls within Section 2(9)(A) of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 unless a statutory exception is established by credible evidence.

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