AT allowed the appeal, set aside the adjudicating authority's...

AT allowed the appeal, set aside the adjudicating authority's order dated 18.08.2020, and declared the attached immovable property as "benami property" under Section 2(9)(A) PBPT Act. It held that purported share application money later shown as unsecured, interest-free loans, without allotment of shares, security, interest, loan agreement, or acknowledgments within limitation, rendered the alleged debt time-barred and unreal, indicating a benami arrangement to route funds for property purchase. The right of Kotak Mahindra Bank, which had granted an overdraft facility prior to the provisional attachment and without knowledge of PBPT proceedings, was expressly protected. The DCIT was given liberty to initiate separate proceedings against the subsequent beneficial owner.

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