Government Decides To Renew Enemy Property Ordinance

New Delhi: On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet decided to recommend to the President repromulgation of an ordinance to amend the Enemy Property Act, declaring that all “enemy property” vested in the “custodian” would continue to be vested in the “custodian” irrespective of the death or extinction of the enemy.

Even though the ordinance was not on the regular agenda of the Cabinet, it was added at the last moment and cleared. Its main aim is to negate the effect of a court judgment in this regard and this is not the first time that the government has taken an ordinance route to do that.

The move is likely to generate some heat, especially since President Pranab Mukherjee has repeatedly raised questions on the NDA government taking the ordinance route too often.

Earlier this year, the Centre prorogued the Rajya Sabha just so that it could re-promulgate the Enemy Property ordinance as it was unlikely to be ratified by the Rajya Sabha within the stipulated time. The Bill to replace the Ordinance was passed by Lok Sabha on March 9 with the government overruling demands by some opposition parties that it be sent to the Standing Committee.

However, it could not get Rajya Sabha’s nod and the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016, was finally referred to a Select Committee. An ordinance lapses after 42 days from the day a session begins unless a Bill to replace it is cleared by Parliament.

In this case, once signed by the President — who is in China on a state visit — the ordinance will be issued once again, so that Rajya Sabha can take a call on it in the Monsoon Session, which usually begins in the last week of July.

The custodian of “enemy property” in the country is an Indian government department that is empowered to appropriate property in India owned by Pakistani nationals. After the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, the Enemy Property Act was enacted in 1968.

A new clause inserted in the previous ordinance says that “the Custodian, may, after making such inquiry as he deems necessary, by order, declare that the property of the enemy or the enemy subject or the enemy firm described in the order, vests in him under this Act and issue a certificate to this effect and such certificate shall be the evidence of the facts stated therein”.