Parliament has passed the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 with the Lok Sabha approving the amendments made to the Bill today. The Rajya Sabha had passed the bill with some amendments on Friday. The amendments to the bill in the Lok Sabha were moved by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. <br/><br/>The Bill will replace the ordinance promulgated by the government. It guards against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan and China after wars. <br/>' <br/>Reply to the discussion on it, Mr Rajnath Singh clarified that the legislation in no manner violates the principles of natural justice and human rights. He said, if by mistake any property is declared as enemy property then the affected party can approach the grievance redressal mechanism as provided in the bill. He also clarified that no enemy property has been disposed of so far by the custodian. Responding to the concerns of members giving retrospective effect to the legislation, the Home Minister said, there will be no adverse effect of it. <br/><br/>AIR correspondent reports The amendments deny those who deserted the country any right to properties left behind in India by plugging the loopholes in the original Act of 1968. This applies retrospectively to transfers that have occurred before or after 1968. The Enemy Property Act was enacted in 1968, following the Indo-Pak War of 1965, to regulate such properties and to list the Custodian's powers. <br/><br/>As per the amendments, once an enemy property is vested with the Custodian, it shall continue to be vested with him even if the enemy, his subject or firm has ceased to be an enemy for reasons such as death. Five ordinances were earlier promulgated on the subject. The passage of the Bill today assumes significance, as the last ordinance is due to expire today. <br/> <br/>

Parliament has passed the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 with the Lok Sabha approving the amendments made to the Bill today. The Rajya Sabha had passed the bill with some amendments on Friday. The amendments to the bill in the Lok Sabha were moved by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. <br/><br/>The Bill will replace the ordinance promulgated by the government. It guards against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan and China after wars. The Bill seeks to amend the Enemy Property Act, 1968, to vest all rights, titles and interests over enemy property in the Custodian. It also declares transfer of enemy property by the enemy, conducted under the Act, to be void. <br/><br/>This applies retrospectively to transfers that have occurred before or after 1968. After the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the Enemy Property Act was enacted in 1968, which regulates such properties and lists the Custodian's powers. As per the amendments, once an enemy property is vested in the Custodian, it shall continue to be vested in him as enemy property irrespective of whether the enemy, enemy subject or enemy firm has ceased to be an enemy due to reasons such as death. The amendments are aimed at plugging the loopholes in the Act to ensure that the enemy properties that have been vested in the Custodian remain so and do not revert to the enemy subject or enemy firm. <br/> <br/>Reply to the discussion on it, Mr Rajnath Singh clarified that the legislation in no manner violates the principles of natural justice and human rights. He said, if by mistake any property is declared as enemy property then the affected party can approach the grievance redressal mechanism as provided in the bill. He also clarified that no enemy property has been disposed of so far by the custodian. Responding to the concerns of members giving retrospective effect to the legislation, the Home Minister said that there will be no adverse effect of it.

The Lok Sabha has taken up the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation)Bill,2016 for consideration and passage which was passed by the Rajya Sabha with some amendments. The amendments to the Bill were moved by Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the House. The Bill will replace the ordinance promulgated by the government. It guards against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan and China after wars. <br/><br/>The Bill amends the Enemy Property Act, 1968, to vest all rights, titles and interests over enemy property in the Custodian. It also declares transfer of enemy property by the enemy, conducted under the Act, to be void. This applies retrospectively to transfers that have occurred before or after 1968. After the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the Enemy Property Act was enacted in 1968, which regulates such properties and lists the Custodian's powers. <br/><br/>As per the amendments, once an enemy property is vested in the Custodian, it shall continue to be vested in him as enemy property irrespective of whether the enemy, enemy subject or enemy firm has ceased to be an enemy due to reasons such as death. The amendments are aimed at plugging the loopholes in the Act to ensure that the enemy properties that have been vested in the Custodian remain so and do not revert to the enemy subject or enemy firm. <br/><br/>Initiating the discussion on the Bill, N K Premachandran of RSP criticized the government for promulgating the ordinance in this regard. multiple times. He said, the ordinance can only brought in compelling circumstances.Hukum Singh of BJP said, the bill is in the national interest.He said, it is intended to secure such property from land-mafias.