New Delhi: The Delhi High Court granted time to the Centre on Tuesday to file its reply on a plea seeking linking of the property documents of citizens with their Aadhaar numbers to curb corruption, black money generation and “benami” transactions.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula granted four weeks’ time to the ministries of finance, law, housing and urban affairs and rural development to file their responses to the petition.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on September 5.

Petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay, a lawyer by profession, said it is the duty of the State to take appropriate steps to curb corruption and seize “benami” properties amassed by illegal means to send out a strong message that the government is determined to fight corruption and black money generation.

“If the government links property with Aadhaar, it will lead to an increment of 2 per cent in the annual growth. It will clean out the electoral process, which is dominated by black money and benami transactions and thrives on a cycle of large black investments … use of political strength to amass private wealth, all with the disdain of the citizen,” the petition has said.

The plea has claimed that “benami” transactions in high-denomination currency are used in illegal activities, such as terrorism, naxalism, gambling, money laundering etc.

“It also inflates the price of essential commodities as well as major assets like real estate and gold. These problems can be curbed up to a great extent by linking movable, immovable properties with the owner’s Aadhaar number,” it has further claimed.

In an affidavit filed in the matter in 2019, the Delhi government has said Aadhaar is accepted as proof of identity for property registration and land mutation, but it is only an optional requirement and there is no provision in the law making it mandatory.