Slow progress in regard to Enemy Property

Evacuee and or Enemy property is that left behind by nationals/ residents of Pakistan or China (or any other country who performed external belligerence against India) and who have moved out of India.  During the two wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, the Indian government took over many properties owned by those who had opted for Pakistani citizenship, to ensure that profits accruing from that property or business were not channeled to Pakistan to help it fight the war.

In Delhi about 3,500 built-up evacuee properties were transferred by the rehabilitation ministry to the municipal corporation of Delhi for slum clearance, during the period of 1962 to 1974. Another 10,000 bighas of agricultural land was also transferred by the ministry of rehabilitation to the DDA for land and building development.

Pakistan sold off all such property in 1975, Due, inter-alia, to various Indian court decisions the Act in this regard was last revised in 2017. Read more here. The guidelines for the disposal of properties were amended in 2019, to facilitate ‘usages of enemy property by the state government exclusively for public use’. Various committees have also been set up and surveys undertaken.

Reasons for the amended Bill:

• The term “Enemy” was widened to include legal heirs irrespective of the citizenship.
• The sale of enemy property cannot be performed by the enemy/ heirs, the Law of Succession will not be applicable.
• The Government can exclusively use the enemy property for public use.
•  Civil Courts cannot entertain matters related to enemy property, only High Courts and Supreme Court will be having jurisdiction.
• The Custodian becomes the owner of enemy property retrospectively from 1968 and will have all rights to evict, get encroachments removed and sell enemy property.

An issue raised against the amendment is that it applies retrospectively and impacts the rights of an earlier purchaser of such property

 Extent of Properties

 An estimated 7 million left for Pakistan after the partition/ communal clashes, and 5 million migrated from West Pakistan to India. Of the total then estimated 9,406 enemy properties in India, 9,280 were left behind by Pakistani nationals and 126 properties by Chinese nationals. Also shares worth about 3000 crores (Feb 2019). Amongst the former, 4,991 are located in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal has 2,735 and Delhi 487. Properties left by Chinese nationals is in Meghalaya (57), West Bengal has 29 such properties and Assam seven. These properties were estimated to be valued at over rupees one lakh crores,

In Nov 21, it was reported that there are 12610 number of Enemy Properties (belonging to Pakistan Nationals and Chinese Nationals), which have been declared and are vested in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India.

 Some recent developments

Hyderabad Oct 2021 : The single largest enemy property in India is on the outskirts of Hyderabad spread over more than 650 acres in Shamshabad Mandal Ranga Reddy district.. CEPI has been pursuing the case with the state government due to the threat of encroachments looming large as land sharks set eyes on it. The encroaches apparently include some prominent and politically well-connected individuals and cover over 540 acres

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/cepi-cracks-down-on-shamshabad-squatters/articleshow/86899239.cms

 Goa Oct 2021 - The state identified 3.5,00,00 square metres of land as enemy property. Over 40 apartments and 30 shops across seven buildings 19 residential bungalows and several commercial houses had come up in part of this enemy property in one area alone.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/3-5l-sqm-of-enemy-property-identified-will-conduct-resurvey-if-needed-cm-to-house/articleshow/87144774.cms

 Kanpur May 2022 : -  Notices have served on 30 people of the city following a campaign to remove people living in enemy properties for years.

 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/91479129.cms

Ghonda June 2022: The district administration has freed a 56-bigha enemy property from encroachers in Akauni village, Gonda, UP when a team along with heavy police force, operated a tractor over the sugarcane crop which was planted on the said piece of land, and destroyed it, a case was registered against four encroachers.

 https://www.outlookindia.com/national/56-bigha-enemy-property-freed-in-gonda-news-194593

This issue recently came into limelight in regard to the riots that too place in Kanpur early this month. It was found that stone pelting etc. was done from several storey high buildings that were built on enemy property

Next: Jal Jeevan  Mission - An update

Previous : Evacuee and/or Enemy property

Evacuee and/or Enemy property

By an Act of 1950 any person who, for fear of disturbances, had left for a place outside India, or become a resident of Pakistan was an “evacuee". And “evacuee property" was of an evacuee (held in any capacity), as also any property obtained from an evacuee. Such evacuee property was deemed to have been vested in the Custodian for the State.

 The evacuee property legislation was actually a predecessor of the current Enemy Property Act. The office of the Custodian of Evacuee Property appropriated buildings and land worth crores of rupees while also using the properties to provide shelter to those who moved to India after partition, as the evacuee property law allowed a migrant’s family to reclaim, in the country they settled in, the value of their forsaken property. 

 The Enemy Property Act, enacted in 1968, provided for the continuous vesting of enemy property in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI). The central government, through the Custodian, is in possession of enemy properties spread across many states in the country.  With the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, people migrated from India to Pakistan. The Government of India took over the properties and companies of those who took Pakistani nationality. These “enemy properties” were vested by the central government in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI). The same was done for property left behind by those who went to China after the 1962 Sino-Indian war.

 The Tashkent Declaration of January 10, 1966 included a clause that said India and Pakistan would discuss the return of the property and assets taken over by either side in connection with the conflict. However, the Government of Pakistan disposed of all such properties in their country in the year 1971 itself.

These properties were initially managed by the home ministry but shifted to state governments in 1989. Subsequently, evacuee land and properties were transferred to them for management and disposal.

Some Courts decisions and subsequent actions 

Courts initially supported CEPI orders but later verdicts hampered their powers.

The estate of the erstwhile Raja of Mahmudabad, declared enemy property, was claimed by his son and after a long legal battle, an SC bench on October 21, 2005, ruled in favour of the son. If the “Enemy” dies, then the property will be transferred through succession and it will no longer be enemy property, if the successor is a citizen of India. Also the enemy can sell the property. In another case, the Bombay High Court held that the power of the CEPI does not include the eviction of an occupant in the unauthorized occupation, without following the proper procedure such as filing of the suit or filing a suit for recovery."

On July 2, 2010, the then UPA government promulgated an Ordinance that restrained courts from ordering the government to divest enemy properties from the Custodian. The 2005 SC order was thus rendered ineffective, and the Custodian again took over the Raja’s properties. The Bill was referred to the Standing Committee and thereafter lapsed

On January 7, 2016, the President of India promulgated The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2016, which was replaced by the Bill that became law in 2017. The Act was amended in 2017 to ensure that the successors of those who migrated to Pakistan and China, will have no claim over the properties left behind in India.

In 2017, Parliament passed The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016, which expanded the definition of the term “enemy subject”, and “enemy firm” to include the legal heir and successor of an enemy, whether a citizen of India or a citizen of a country which is not an enemy.

The amended law provided that enemy property shall continue to vest in the Custodian even if the enemy or enemy subject or enemy firm ceases to be an enemy due to death, extinction, winding up of business or change of nationality, or that the legal heir or successor is a citizen of India or a citizen of a country which is not an enemy.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-enemy-property-in-india-and-how-has-the-government-dealt-with-it-6231854/

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Previous : Recent Interesting Decisions on Waqf Property

Recent Interesting Decisions on Waqf Property

While the relevance of the Waqf Act might be questionable, there is also the the problem of illegal land encroachment. Establishments such as the Central Waqf Board could be illegally gaining control of land by terming them as waqf properties. These Boards have time and again been accused of acquiring lands and public places by fraudulent means. 

On the other side, are the majority of Mutawalis / custodians and religious leaders working hand in glove with Muslim politicians in grabbing Waqf land? In Telangana reportedly more than 2/3rd of Waqf property has been encroached.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/a-sordid-tale-of-encroachments-and-inaction/article37062875.ece 

The (M.P., Karnataka) High Courts have held that when an appeal is made against any decision to the Tribunal and the decision of the Tribunal is final then the jurisdiction of the Civil Court is dismissed.

In February 2022 the Supreme Court observed that the Waqf Board can determine the nature of the property as Waqf only after conducting an enquiry as prescribed under section 40 of the Waqf Act. 

Also in Feb 2022 - SC upheld Telangana govt’s right over 1654 acre Hyderabad land claimed by Wakf Board. The Telangana government had leased out the land for setting up a university etc., township and other institutions of repute. The state government had appealed to the Supreme Court after losing out before the Andhra Pradesh HC in April 2012. The state had claimed that as a result of the HC ruling, it would be required to pay a huge sum running into thousands of crores of rupees as compensation to the Telangana Waqf Board.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sc-upholds-telangana-govt-s-right-over-1654-acre-hyderabad-land-claimed-by-wakf-board-101644258721835.html 

In a judgement related to Rajasthan, in April 2022, the Supreme Court held that in the absence of proof of dedication or "grant" (the disputed area) cannot be recognised as a religious place for offering namaz.

https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/waqf-act-dilapidated-structure-cannot-be-recognised-as-a-religious-place-for-offering-namaaz-without-proof-of-dedication-supreme-court-197919 

Next : Evacuee and/or Enemy property

Previous :  On Waqf Property

On Waqf Property

A waqf is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitable purposes with no intention of reclaiming the assets. Any person believing in Islam can dedicate or give his or her property in the name of God for religious and charitable purposes, such property is Waqf property. This is an irrevocable and permanent dedication /transfer. A non-Muslim cannot transfer property as Waqf unless he or she believes in Islam. 

While there was the Waqf Act 1954, Waqfs in India are now governed by the Act of 1995. A survey commissioner under the Act lists all properties declared as Waqf by making local investigation, summoning witnesses and requisitioning public documents. 

A Waqf Board is a juristic person with power to acquire and hold property. Each state has a Waqf Board headed by and with Muslim personal on it - recognised scholars of Islamic theology.

Section 40 Waqf Board Act mentions that any property in India can be claimed as Waqf Board Property. And under Section 52: The Waqf Board can, after the inquiry, ask the local Collector to deliver the possession of the property.

While most of them are Sunni Waqf Boards, the country does have some Shia Boards too. For any dispute with the Waqf Board, one must appeal to the Waqf Tribunal. The Wakf Act was amended in 2013, making it mandatory for States to constitute a three member Tribunal which would include one person knowing Muslim Law. There are huge and multiple Waqf properties in India, thus for e.g. the Jama Masjid in Delhi, the two Imambaras in Lucknow are Waqf properties. 

Incidentally, the board also takes 7% of the income from waqf property – 1% for the Central Waqf Council, and 6% for itself.

https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/what-is-waqf-act-and-who-owns-the-waqf-land-in-india-567556.html

The issue really also is - no civil court has any jurisdiction. So an aggrieved person would have to approach a High Court. And how many would have the wherewithal to do so is a *big* question. And would he/she consider the effort, money and time worth it?

Next : Recent Interesting Decisions on Waqf Property

Previous : Hippocratic Oath and Charak Shapath

Hippocratic Oath and Charak Shapath

The Dean of Madurai Medical College was removed on May 1 2022 after a batch of new students were administered an oath in Sanskrit attributed to the ancient Indian sage Maharshi Charak instead of the traditional Hippocratic Oath in English.

NMC (which replaced the Medical Council of India as the regulatory body for medical education and practices)  recently suggested that medical colleges may allow their students to take ‘Charak Shapath’ instead of the Hippocratic Oath, historically taken by physicians the world over. This oath is attributed to Hippocrates, a physician from the Greek island of Kos, from the classical period (4th-5th centuries BC). The earliest available fragments of the original oath date back to the late 3rd century AD.

Charak Shapath or Charak’s oath is a passage from the 'Charak Samhita' which is a guideline by the acharya (or a teacher) to medical students. A part of the Shapath comes as a sermon by the Acharya. Charak was one of the principal contributors to Ayurved and was the editor of the medical treatise entitled ‘Charak Samhita’. The compendium serves as one of the foundational texts of Ayurveda. Like many sages in ancient Indian history, Charak’s historicity is unknown. The Samhita however is a pharmacopoeia dating back to the 1st-2nd centuries AD. Charak Shapath or Charak’s oath is a passage from the 'Charak Samhita' which is a guideline by the acharya (or a teacher) to medical students. A part of the Shapath comes as a sermon by the Acharya.

The incident triggered a controversy with the language being a sensitive issue in Tamil Nadu. The State govt. “will oppose and defeat the efforts to “impose” languages like Hindi and Sanskrit”. Their Health Minister Subramanian said that deans of all medical colleges in the state have been asked to stick to the Hippocratic Oath. 

Undergraduates at All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) — the country’s premier institute for medical education — have been administered the Charak Shapath during their annual convocation for several years now, at least since 2013. The AIIMS oath includes: “Not for the self, not for the fulfilment of any worldly material desire or gain, but solely for the good of suffering humanity, I will treat my patient and excel well”.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reportedly “assured that Charak Shapath will be optional and will not be forced to replace the Hippocratic Oath”.

On May 4, the State Govt. reinstated the Dean of the Madurai Medical College.

My opinion : Tamil Nadu Govt seems to consider itself closer to a Greek Island than to that within India.

https://www.timesnownews.com/education/tamil-nadu-charak-shapath-row-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-differ-from-hippocratic-oath-article-91257708 

Next: On Waqf Property

Previous : Katchtheevu and India's Territorial Sea Rights

Katchtheevu and India's Territorial Sea Rights

Territorial sea extends to a limit of 12 nautical miles (approx. 22 kms) beyond the coastal landline with full sovereignty over the air space, above the sea, over the seabed and subsoil. Other countries have right of innocent passage through the territorial sea but not of air space.

Katchatheevu is a 163-acre uninhabited island located between Neduntheevu, Sri Lanka and Rameswaram, India - traditionally used by fishermen of both countries, and presently administered by Sri Lanka. The island used to be a part of the Ramnad Kingdom in Madurai which, during the British rule, became part of the Madras Presidency. Ownership of the island has been controversial as during the British rule, the island was administered by both countries. In 1921, both Sri Lanka and India laid claims to Katchatheevu.

In 1974, then PM, Indira Gandhi ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka under the "Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime agreement". Another agreement of 1976 was on fishing rights.

The Sri Lankan Navy came into the picture during their Civil War to control the smuggling of weapons by LTTE. With depletion of fish and aquatic life in the Indian continental shelf, more fishermen poached into the Sri Lankan sea area. In 2010 the Sri Lankan government issued a notice to Tamil Nadu government saying the Indian court cannot nullify the 1974 agreement.

The island is important to fishermen of Tamil Nadu and has led to some agitations. The legality of the transfer was challenged in the Supreme Court since the recognizing was not ratified by the Indian Parliament (as provided in the agreement) nor was the State Govt consulted. In June 2011 the CM Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa, filed a petition in the Supreme Court that the declaration of the 1974 and 1976 agreements between India and Sri Lanka on ceding of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka were unconstitutional. The matter is still sub-judicial.

However, the Indian government had stated, "No territory belonging to India was ceded nor sovereignty relinquished since the area was in dispute and had never been demarcated" and that the dispute on the status of the island was settled in 1974 by an agreement, and both countries took into account historical evidence and legal aspects.

This island Katchatheevu was "gifted" by Indira Gandhi to Sri Lanka in 1974 and is still a matter of dispute with Indian fishermen getting arrested or even killed. Apart from the issue of fishing rights etc. there is, in my view, also the issue of territorial sea extending about 22 km beyond the land, the sovereign rights to the airspace,  over the sea and the seabed below. Distance from India to main Sri Lanka is 55 kms but to Katchatheevu merely 25 kms.

So who has territorial sea rights over the sea between?

https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/katchatheevu-island-a-gift-to-sri-lanka-is-now-causing-fishermens-conflict-564430.html

Next : Hippocratic Oath and Charaka Shapath

Previous : Kendriya Vidyalayas

Kendriya Vidyalayas

The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan aims to set-up  & manage schools under CBSE, for the children of transferable employees of the Government of India, floating populations & others including those living in remote & undeveloped locations of the country. All Kendriya Vidyalayas are co-educational, composite schools. The quality of teaching aims an appropriate teacher-pupil ratio. There is no tuition fee for boys upto Class VIII, girls upto Class XII and SC/ST students and children of KVS employees.

Even today, it's mission statement reads “to cater to the educational needs of children of transferable Central Government including Defence and Para-military personnel by providing a common programme of education”;

https://kvsangathan.nic.in/about-kvs/mission 

Seems anyone and everyone had quotas. Previously, for e.g. an MP was allowed to recommend two admissions in an academic year, increased to five in 2011, six in 2012, and 10 in 2016.  5 seats in each section of class 1 were filled by the children of sponsoring agencies. The Union Education Minister was allowed to recommend admission of 450 students under a separate ‘discretionary’ quota. There were many other “entitlements.” This year’s recommendations apparently exceeded 60,000 with demands for more seats

We in the public sector would recall that admission for our kids, to Kendriya Vidyalayas, was well nigh impossible – our transfers were not recent enough or frequent enough to make us entitled.  

These quotas have now been generally scrapped. 👏👏👏  This is expected to free over 40,000 seats in the centrally-funded schools across India. Some criteria have been added or continue.

KVS will now be having seats for children who have been orphaned due to the covid-19 pandemic. There is provision for single girl children. There are quotas for Armed Forces

Children of serving KVS employees will also be considered for admission  but for class 9, the child has to clear the admission test. No admission to the wards of retired persons.

Children of central govt employees who died in harness, children of recipients of various gallantry wards, meritorious sports children etc can get admission.

https://www.news18.com/news/education-career/kendriya-vidyalaya-admissions-mp-edu-ministry-quotas-gone-covid-19-orphans-added-check-new-rules-for-kvs-5062075.html

Next : Katchtheevu and India's Territorial Sea Rights

Previous : Global Centre for Traditional Medicine

Global Centre for Traditional Medicine

In general, in India, all of us have grown up using home remedies coming from traditional knowledge. To us it is neither unusual nor spectacular. In developed countries however, such usage is limited. A classic example is of the attempt to patent the use of haldi. As also, in part, that of Neem or Basmati rice. These gave all of us quite a shock. 

On 19th April this year, PM Modi, along with WHO DG Dr Ghebreyesus and Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth laid the foundation stone for the WHO Global Center for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar in Gujarat. The first of its kind, the GCTM will be a global outpost centre for traditional medicine across the world

"When India is celebrating 75 years of its Independence right now, this ground-breaking ceremony for this centre marks the beginning of a new era of traditional medicine in the world during the next 25 years," Modi said on this occasion. "Looking at the increasing popularity of holistic healthcare, I am confident that traditional medicine and this centre will help thought  become very important for each and every family of the world after 25 years, when India will be celebrating 100 years of independence

The GCTM is a knowledge centre for traditional medicine. As part of WHO’s overall traditional medicine strategy, it has a strategic focus on evidence and learning, data and analytics, sustainability and equity, and innovation and technology to optimize the contribution of traditional medicine to global health and sustainable development. At the same time, respect for local heritages, resources and rights is a guiding principle.

The WHO anticipate that harnessing the potential of traditional medicine would be a game changer for health when founded on evidence, innovation and sustainability. India’s support for establishing  the Centre as a global good and in the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kudumbakam: the world is one family.

https://www.who.int/news/item/25-03-2022-who-establishes-the-global-centre-for-traditional-medicine-in-india

Jamnagar already has the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda, (ITRA). Established in 1967, ITRA or Gujarat Ayurved University is the first university to offer education and training in the field of Ayurveda across the world. The institution was formed by an act approved by Gujarat State legislative Assembly in the year 1965. It is devoted to Ayurvedic studies and Research and is administratively associated with the Health Ministry at State and Centre level. This university is a self-governing institution supported by the Government of Gujarat State.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/foundation-stone-for-who-traditional-medicine-centre-laid-in-jamnagar/article65336264.ece

Next :  Kendriya Vidyalayas

Previous : Endometriosis