Latest news with #EnemyPropertyAct
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Discrepancies to fore as Kerala government takes stock of enemy properties
Thiruvananthapuram: A meeting convened by the additional chief secretary (home and vigilance) on enemy properties , in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam killings , has acknowledged long-pending issues that kept them in legal and administrative limbo — discrepancies, court delays and poor record-keeping. Enemy properties are assets once owned by individuals who migrated to Pakistan or China and were later acquired by the Indian govt under the Enemy Property Act, 1968 . Kerala's share of these properties mostly stems from migration from the Malabar region to Karachi during the pre- and post-Independence period. Many migrated for trade with the intention to return, which was thwarted by visa denials or deportations. The meeting held on April 29, the minutes of which were accessed by TOI, noted that "the preservation of enemy property is very important and after the unfortunate incident in Pahalgam, this is going to be more serious." It exposed the state's administrative inertia, with several district collectors admitting to gaps in valuation, survey, mutation and clarity over which portions of the properties are under the scanner. Many of these properties are tied up in litigation in Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur and Ernakulam districts. In Kannur, five of seven identified properties are already before the high court. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending local enterprise accounting software [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo Kozhikode has 17 such properties, but mutation was completed for only three, with the rest pending due to partition and ownership ambiguities. Malappuram stands out with 56 cases under one list and six under another, awaiting detailed valuation. Palakkad and Thrissur reported six and five cases respectively, while the latter admitted that tax was still being paid on four such properties. In Ernakulam, one disputed case involves a man who became a Pakistani citizen while the property remains in his wife's name, a grey area that now needs legal interpretation from the ministry of home affairs. The state govt has now directed officials to ensure that no transactions take place on these properties, even if courts have not ruled on them. The directive, however, underscores a deeper problem: many of the properties remained untouched for years due to prolonged litigation, and in some cases, due to lack of defence filings by the state. The district collectors have been asked to report if such legal statements were even filed. Perhaps the most revealing is the mismatch between state and central data. While Kerala Police flagged 61 enemy properties, the Centre's Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI) lists 68 vested properties and 92 under process in the state. This discrepancy is yet to be explained or reconciled. Official data shared by MHA shows over 12,611 enemy properties across the country, of which 12,485 belonged to those who chose Pakistani citizenship and 126 of those who took up Chinese. These include assets located primarily in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Goa, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat and Tripura. The numbers are few in Kerala and other states. The Union govt has, in recent years, taken steps to dispose of enemy properties, including forming a group of ministers in 2020 to expedite the process.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Enemy Property
History's heavy hand How hundreds of families became trapped in a legal battle over a label they never chose One of my uncles had gone to Pakistan for work and returned in 1958. Our ancestral property was divided about 20 years ago,' explains Abdu Khader of Nannambra in Malappuram. 'Yet, I received a Central govt notice claiming my land is enemy property.' In Sept 2024, Khader and scores of others mostly in Malappuram as well as in Kannur, Kozhikode and Palakkad, received notices from the Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI), stating their properties are subject to govt takeover. The notices, dated Sept 19, gave residents just 15 days to respond. Failure to reply, the notice warned, would be considered consent for the govt to seize the land. 'I've been living here with my family since 1978. I don't understand how, all of a sudden, my property has been labelled as enemy property,' says Sujatha, a resident of Thalakkad, also in Malappuram. The plot of land in question is among the 68 properties in Kerala—worth a staggering around Rs 1,375 crore—that have been designated as 'enemy property.' The Enemy Property Act came into force in 1968 after the war with Pakistan. It aimed to regulate properties of those who migrated to Pakistan after the 1947 partition or during the 1965 and 1971 conflicts and took up citizenship there or are presumed to be Pakistani nationals. But for many families like Khader's, these labels don't reflect their reality. The law has ensnared families who have lived peacefully for generations. Many of these cases trace back to ancestors who migrated temporarily—or under compulsion—decades ago, whether for work or trade. At the time, moving to Karachi was no different than travelling to Mumbai or Kolkata. Hundreds left for ordinary jobs: Running tea stalls, working in hotels or beedi factories, trading betel leaves—just as they might have moved to any other Indian city. Most never intended to stay forever. Yet, when they tried to return, they were met with visa rejections or deportation. One such family found hope in the courtroom. Kunji Koya, a Parappanangadi native, had moved to Karachi in 1953 for working in a hotel. Though he returned to India, he was branded as a Pakistani national by the police. His son, P Ummer Koya, endured a long legal battle just to pay land tax on property he bought from his father. In a landmark Kerala high court ruling in June 2024, the court clarified that seeking employment in Pakistan does not make one an 'enemy' under the law. It quashed the proceedings, affirming the family's right to their property. 'By no stretch of the imagination can the petitioner's father or the property held by him be deemed 'enemy' under the Act,' the court ruled. Yet this ruling remains the exception, not the norm. Several families remain mired in uncertainty. Their appeals to district officials and political leaders have yielded little result. In Thalakkad panchayat in Tirur, over 35 families now find themselves unable to pay land tax. Though they had regularly paid until 2024, revenue officials are now refusing payments. 'CEPI has collected details of these properties and it is verifying the claims of property holders. We don't know how long the process will take. Until then, we cannot accept tax from them,' says R Rajiv, village officer, Thalakkad. A similar situation prevails in Nannambra panchayat, where 10 families are affected. Notices were served directly by CEPI officials from Mumbai, leaving local revenue officers with no authority. 'Residents can appeal to CEPI as mentioned in the order. We have no role in it,' says N Jayasankar, village officer in Nannambra. When tensions between India and Pakistan rise, fear among affected families deepens. 'I have lived here for over three decades, paying my taxes,' says one resident, requesting anonymity. 'This notice has plunged us into despair. While I plead with authorities to show compassion, the worsening relationship between India and Pakistan gives me nightmares.' The plight of these families has been worsened by the 2017 amendment to the Enemy Property Act. It invalidates legal sales of these properties and erects formidable barriers for those seeking legal recourse, shutting the doors of civil courts to their pleas. Kerala ranks 13th in the country in the number of enemy properties, with 38 located in Malappuram district alone. Many of these properties have changed hands multiple times, with buyers unaware of their historical baggage—until the notices arrived. 'As of now, six properties have been confirmed as enemy property and will be auctioned,' said Vinil PK, an official at Malappuram district collectorate who deals with enemy property. 'The rest are still under verification,' he said. 'Our political parties, MLAs, and MPs should take up the issue with the Centre and convince it of the plight of these hapless people,' says former MLA and film director PT Kunhi Mohammed who wrote and directed 'Paradeshi,' which depicts the plight of 'Pak citizens' in Kerala. 'Many had to take Pakistani passports to return to India but were denied Indian citizenship and lived in fear of deportation. Now their descendants face losing their hard-earned properties.' Every time the India-Pakistan situation flares up, these families are gripped by fear, uncertain of when the next blow might fall. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
The Hindu
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Kerala has 63 properties of Pakistan nationals
There are 63 properties in Kerala belonging to Pakistan nationals that have been categorised as enemy properties. These properties are chiefly spread across Malappuram (37), Kozhikode (20), and Kannur (six). As the word suggests, enemy properties are assets owned by individuals or entities that are deemed enemies of the country, particularly those who fled India during times of conflict. In Kerala, the assets are mainly of those who moved to Pakistan or were trapped in Pakistan during partition as well as the post-Independence period, says P.H. Kurian, former Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue. As per the law, the Enemy Property Act, 1968 allows the government to take control of these properties or dispose them of, he says. According to the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Home, enemy properties are sold through e-auction by carrying out valuation of such property by a committee under the aegis of the district magistrate concerned, where the property is situated. E.T. Mohammed Basheer, MP, who took up the issue in Parliament says these properties mainly belong to two categories of people. Those who migrated to Karachi for business and job purposes akin to the migration to the erstwhile Bombay and those who voluntarily migrated to Pakistan during partition. P.T. Kunju Muhammed, who handled the subject in his film Paradesi, says the condition of those who migrated to Pakistan either for job purposes or during partition was pathetic. 'I had met many children of such people during my stay in the Gulf, and the majority of them admitted that their forefathers had committed a big mistake. Though they are treated as traitors, a good number of them went to Karachi for running teashops, beedi works and the betel leaves trade, etc.,' he says. There was also an outfit called Malabar Muslim Jamaat in Pakistan for the welfare of Keralites trapped in that country. Not only Karachi, there were people who migrated to Dhaka as well as these were the bustling cities during that period, says Mr. Muhammed. Compared to such enemy properties in northern India, the number of such properties in Kerala is much lower, says Mr. Basheer. Now, the Centre has taken several steps to fast-track the monetisation of enemy properties. According to a notification issued last year, all district magistrates should act as ex officio deputy custodians of these properties. Also, as part of auctioning these properties, the pre-bid earnest money deposit has been reduced from 10% to 5% to attract bidders, and the payment period of the sale value increased to 120 days from 21 days.
New Indian Express
29-04-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Khoon se Karo Aarti: BJP MP Dubey's blunt reply to 'talks with Pakistan' suggestion by Congress leader
RANCHI: Reacting sharply to a Congress leader's suggestion of talks with Pakistan over war, Godda MP Nishikant Dubey asserted that there is no option other than 'Kashmir hai Pukarti - Pukarti hai Bharti; Khoon se tilak karo - Goliyon se aarti (Kashmir is calling; India is calling; Apply tilak with blood; do aarti with bullets). Dubey was reacting to a question on Tuesday asked by a news agency on Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President Tariq Hamid Karra's reported statement that India should have talks with Pakistan. 'Should we greet them with aarti. Pakistani people are killing our people and we should greet them with aarti. I am a Vidyarthi Parishad worker and I know only one slogan ---- ''Kashmir hai Pukarti - Pukarti hai Bharti; Khoon se tilak Karo - Goliyon se Aarti,' said Nishikant Dubey at Delhi Airport further saying that there is no alternative to it. Later, Dubey also posted his statement given to the news agency on X for which he is being trolled brutally; some people are praising him, saying – 'Sidhi Baat -- No Bakwas, while some are criticizing him for politicizing the issue. Dubey later shared his statement given to the news agency on X, for which he is being trolled brutally. While some praised him with comments like "Sidhi Baat — No Bakwas," others criticised him for allegedly politicising the issue. When asked about Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah's statement that Pahalgam terror attack was a result of a security lapse and he is not in support of war with Pakistan, Dubey directly questioned his integrity saying, 'People should find it out, whether Siddaramaiah is a patriot or a traitor.' Dubey, who is largely known for his outspoken attitude, had also questioned the Pakistani nationals living in India under the guise of marriage, seeking a probe into their intentions behind marrying to a person in an enemy country. Dubey clearly said that transparency is very important in the visa system, and the Central Government should be stricter in this regard. Dubey stated that there is a hidden agenda behind these marriages and questioned whether matrimonial matches within Indian society were hard to find. 'When the process of visa cancellations began, two types of visas emerged, and an in-depth investigation is required. Pakistani girls have been married here, and they cannot become citizens of India and have been living here for years,' the MP said. He added, "Even Pakistani men have been married into India. What is the motive behind these marriages, it needs to be investigated." Dubey said, "Those who migrated to Pakistan in 1947, their properties were taken over by the government under the Enemy Property Act," adding that this implies that Indians marrying their daughters into Pakistan and Pakistanis marrying their daughters into India are enemies of this country. It is required to deal with them first, he added. India on April 25 had announced the suspension of visa services for Pakistani nationals with immediate effect and revoked all existing valid visas issued to them, except for long-term, diplomatic, and official visas. The move comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, where 27 people, mostly tourists, were killed and over a dozen were injured in one of the deadliest attacks in the region since the 2019 Pulwama strike, after terrorists opened fire on a popular meadow.
New Indian Express
29-04-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Investigate motive behind Indian-Pakistani marriages: MP Nishikant Dubey
RANCHI: Questioning the intent 'Pakistani nationals living in India under the guise of marriage,' Godda MP Nishikant Dubey has called for a probe into such arrangements and urged the Centre to tighten the visa system here. Dubey stated that there is a hidden agenda behind these marriages and questioned whether matrimonial matches within Indian society were hard to find. "When the process of visa cancellations began, two types of visas emerged and an in-depth investigation is required. Pakistani girls have been married here, and they cannot become citizens of India and have been living here for years," the MP said. He added, "Even Pakistani men have been married into India. What is the motive behind these marriages, it needs to be investigated." Dubey said, "Those who migrated to Pakistan in 1947, their properties were taken over by the government under the Enemy Property Act," adding that this implies that Indians marrying their daughters into Pakistan and Pakistanis marrying their daughters into India are enemies of this country. "We need to deal with them first," he added. India had on Friday (April 25) announced the The move comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries following Amidst this action, this statement of Nishikant Dubey has come to the fore, which has created a stir in political circles. The government has also made it clear that complete caution is being taken in all such cases and every visa application is being thoroughly investigated.
