What is Enemy Property in India?

About Enemy Property:

• Enemy property is those immovable and moveable assets which were left behind by people who took citizenship of Pakistan and China after leaving India during the partition and post the 1962 and 1965 wars.
• Besides real estate, enemy property may also include bank accounts, shares, gold, and other assets of such individuals.
• The enemy properties are vested with the Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI), an authority created under the Enemy Property Act, 1968.
• The 2017 amendment to the Act (Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2017) stated that the successors of those who migrated to Pakistan and China ceased to have a claim over the properties left behind in India.
  • The amendment ensured that the law of succession does not apply to enemy property, that there cannot be a transfer of any property vested in the custodian by an enemy, or enemy subject, or enemy firm, and that the custodian shall preserve the enemy property till it is disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
• As per CEPI, there are 13,252 enemy properties in India, valued at over Rs1 lakh crore.
• Most of these properties belong to people who migrated to Pakistan, and over 100 to those who migrated to China.
• Uttar Pradesh (5,982) has the highest number of enemy properties, followed by West Bengal (4,354). 

Q1: What is the Enemy Property Act 1968?

The Enemy Property Act, 1968, an Act of the Indian Parliament, allows and governs real estate allocation in India possessed by Pakistani nationals. The act get enacted in the aftermath of the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war. The Guardian of Enemy Property for India, a government department, receives ownership. There are also enemy properties, which are movable properties.

Source: When a home is ‘enemy property’