by THO
Saif Ali Khan Enemy Property Case: The fate of properties worth ₹15,000 crore owned by Bhopal’s erstwhile rulers and inherited by actor Saif Ali Khan and his family continues to be in dispute over the uncertainty of filing an appeal against an order of the Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property, an authority which comes under the Union home ministry.
The Madhya Pradesh high court asked actor Saif Ali Khan to approach the authority against an order of the Centre that declared that Pataudi family’s historical properties as “enemy property”.
It remains unclear as to whether Saif Ali Khan has filed an appeal before the Mumbai-based Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property, news agency PTI reported.
The authority’s order dated February 24, 2015, wherein the Custodian of Enemy Property for India termed the Bhopal Nawab’s property as ‘enemy property’ was challenged by Saif and his mother, noted actress Sharmila Tagore (Pataudi). The basis for the ruling was that Nawab Muhammad Hamidullah Khan’s eldest daughter Abida Sultan Begum had migrated to Pakistan after the Partition. Therefore, all such properties that she was supposed to succeed became enemy properties.
What is enemy property?
The Enemy Property Act, 1968, is an “act to provide for the continued vesting of enemy property vested in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India under the Defence of India Rules, 1962, (and the Defence of India Rules, 1971), and for matters connected therewith”.
The act defines enemy property as “property for the time being belonging to or held or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject or an enemy firm”.
The term basically refers to assets that have been left behind in India by individuals who have moved to countries that are designated ‘enemy nations’.
For such properties, the central government, by notification, appoints a Custodian of Enemy Property for India and one or more Deputy Custodians and Assistant Custodians of Enemy Property for such local areas as specified.
The Custodian of Enemy Property for India is an Indian government department that is “empowered to appropriate property in India owned by Pakistani nationals. After the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965, the Enemy Property Act was promulgated in 1968”, the ministry of Home Affairs defines.
Can enemy property be inherited?
According to the Enemy Property Act, 1968, properties designated as ‘enemy property’ are permanently vested to the Custodian of Enemy Property.
Dealing with matters of other assets, securities, money, returns, etc., related to the said property is also defined in the framework provided by the law.
Even in cases where the enemy firm or subject ceased to be an enemy or exist in face of death or business closure, the property shall remain with the Custodian.
Notably, other than to the whole of India, the act also extends to Indian citizens outside the nation and to branches and agencies outside of the country or bodies corporate registered or incorporated in the nation.
Can enemy property be divested?
The central government may direct that any enemy property vested in the Custodian under the Enemy Property Act, 1968, and remaining with him shall be divested and be returned to the owner thereof or to such other person as may be specified in the direction.
After this, “the property will cease to vest in the Custodian and shall revest in such owner of other person”, the framework under the law reads.
Can rules of or for the Act change?
The central government carries the power to make rules for executing the purposes of the Enemy Property Act, 1968.
“Every rule made by the central government under this section shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may comprised in one session. Both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in the modified form.”
How are enemy properties disposed?
The procedure for the disposal of enemy properties vested in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India is provided under the Disposal of Enemy Property Order, 2018.
To begin with, a list of all vested properties is prepared by the Custodian and submitted to the central government within a specified timeframe.
Then a Valuation Committee comprising the respective District Magistrate, registrar or sub-registrar and superintendent or executive engineer of CPWD or PWD is constituted. This commission evaluates the immovable enemy property.
After the Valuation Committee submits its report, the Custodian is required to prepare and submit the state-wise list of the enemy properties along with the valuation to the central government within one month of him receiving the panel’s report.
The Centre then constitutes an ‘Enemy Property Disposal Committee’, comprising Additional Secretary to the Government of India in the ministry or department dealing with enemy property, Joint Secretary in the department of divestment, among other top officials.
The committee provides its recommendations to the central government in relation to the sale, transfer, usage or any other manner in which the enemy property may be dealt with.
Vacant immovable enemy property may be auctioned at the highest price for disposal. In case it is occupied, then the property may be offered to the existing occupants at the committee’s valuation.
Movable enemy properties like shares might be sold by the Custodian with the approval of the Central government in one or more lots.
How many enemy properties are there in India?
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the number of immovable property of Pakistani nationals vested in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India totals to 12,983 properties (plots).
The maximum number of such properties are in Uttar Pradesh (5,688) and West Bengal (4,354).
