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New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday passed amendments to the contentious Enemy Property Act of 1968 which will now be introduced in the winter session of parliament.
A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs to introduce the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Second Bill, 2010 to make amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968.
The Bill allows India-born legal heirs to claim property left behind by those who migrated to Pakistan after Partition.
The heirs will have to prove their status to the government. The Bill follows a legal battle won in the Supreme Court by the Raja of Mehmoodabad to reclaim property.
Earlier, there was no political consensus on the Bill due to lobbying of cross-party Muslim MPs, including several ministers, who pleaded to ensure that legal heirs are allowed to hold the property of their parents or grandparents who had migrated to Pakistan.
Around 2000 claimants to “enemy properties” exists throughout the country and courts will not have jurisdiction over such property.
The Ordinance of July 2, 2010 by the President on enemy properties had come after consultations with the Home Ministry.
The proposed Bill said any enemy property divested from the custodian to any person before the commencement of the proposed legislation shall continue to vest in the custodian.
However, it provides respite to those who have won favourable verdict from courts. Property divested from custodian before July 2 will stand transferred to the custodian.
“We are not getting into legal things. The Bill has been approved and will be introduced in Parliament where discussion will take place,” Home Minister P Chidambaram said.
The government had to withdraw the initial bill after it faced opposition from the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party as their leaders saw the Bill as anti-Muslim.
The original Bill/ordinance proposed by the Home Ministry took away rights of tenants or legal heirs of those who had migrated to Pakistan.
There are over 2000 such claimants to enemy properties.
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