RS panel on enemy property Bill to submit report in 2nd part

The Select Committee of Rajya Sabha will scrutinise and submit its report on the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016, in the opening week of the second part of the Budget Session.
The first part of the session, which began on February 23, concluded on March 16 while its second part will commence on April 25 and wrap up on May 13.
All parliamentary committees to which such Bills have been referred are expected to speedily scrutinise the bills during this recess period and submit them to Parliament when the second part of the session commences.
The Upper House had on March 15 adopted a motion for referring the Bill, which seeks to amend the Enemy Property Act, 1968, and the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, as passed by Lok Sabha.

According to a Rajya Sabha bulletin, the panel has been asked to submit the report by the last day of the first week of the second part of the Budget session.
The Select Committee, headed by BJP member Bhupender Yadav, has been asked to carry out a detailed scrutiny of the measure that seeks to guard against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan and China after the wars and amend the Enemy Property Act, 1968.

Other members of the 23-member panel are Hussain Dalwai, K Rahman Khan and PL Punia (Congress), MJ Akbar, and Shamsher Singh Manhas (BJP), Anil Desai (Shiv Sena) Javed Ali Khan (SP), KC Tyagi (JD-U), Sukhendu Sekhar Roy (Trinamool Congress), Ritabrata Banerjee (CPI-M), S Muthukaruppan (AIADMK), Satish Chandra Misra (BSP), D Raja (CPI), AU Singh Deo (BJD), CM Ramesh (TDP), Praful Patel (NCP), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Naresh Gujral (SAD), Ramdas Athawale (RPI), Ram Kumar Kashyap (INLD), Mir Mohammad Fayaz (PDP) and Parimal Nathwani (Independent).

In the wake of the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971, there
was migration of people from India to Pakistan and, under the Defence of India Rules framed under the Defence of India Act, the government took over the properties and companies of such persons as had taken Pakistani nationality.
These 'enemy properties' were vested with the Custodian of Enemy Property for India.
The amendments say that 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, etc.

The new Bill also ensures that the law of succession does not apply to enemy property; that there cannot be 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.
The amendments are aimed at plugging the loopholes in the Act to ensure that enemy properties that have been vested in the Custodian continue that way and do not revert to the enemy subject or enemy firm.
The Enemy Property Act was enacted in 1968 and provided for the continuous vesting of enemy property with the Custodian.

The Centre, through the Custodian, is in possession of enemy properties spread across the country. In addition, there are also movable properties categorised as enemy property.