Govt may gain control over Pataudi family's Rs 15,000 crore property in Bhopal: Report
Bhopal: The central government can take over the historical properties of the Pataudi family estimated to be worth Rs 15,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh under provisions of the Enemy Property Act, 1968, as per a ruling by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The HC lifted the stay imposed on these properties in 2015, potentially paving the way for their acquisition under the Enemy Property Act, 1968, as reported by NDTV.
Some of the properties included in the ruling are Flag Staff House, the Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Dar-Us-Salam, Bungalow of Habibi, Ahmedabad Palace, Kohefiza Property, among others. The Enemy Property Act allows the government to seize control of properties belonging to persons who migrated to Pakistan after the Partition.
Bhopal's last Nawab, Hamidullah Khan, had three daughters. One of them migrated to Pakistan, while his second daughter, Sajida Sultan, stayed in India and married Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, and became the legal heir.
Saif Ali Khan is Sajida's grandson ,and he inherited a share of the properties. However, the government is citing the migrant daughter as grounds to take control of the properties, NDTV mentioned.
Justice Vivek Agarwal, in his ruling, stated that the amended Enemy Property Act, 2017, provides a statutory mechanism for addressing disputes. "If a representation is filed within 30 days from today, the appellate authority shall not advert to the aspect of limitation and shall deal with the appeal on its own merits," the report said, quoting the court.
Meanwhile, 1.5 lakh residents are anxious about the potential takeover after the government has been pushing forward its plans to conduct surveys and determine ownership.
"The stay has been lifted, but merging these properties under the Enemy Property Act is complicated. The Pataudi family still has a chance to appeal," one of the residents of these properties told the publication.
"The government is claiming these properties, but many have been sold or leased over the years. This issue is far from straightforward,” another resident said.
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We received request; will decide soon whether to support TVK: Thirumavalavan
Chennai (PTI): VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan on Thursday said that his party received a request from TVK for support and the high-level committee of his party will decide whether to support the Vijay-led party to form the government.
The TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly and emerged as the single largest party. Vijay will have to resign from one of the two constituencies he has won.
Though the Congress party, which has five MLAs, has extended support to TVK, the actor-politician-led party was still short of as many seats to touch the magic number of 118, the majority mark in the 234-member House.
"We received the request letter from TVK. We are thankful for that. We have not ignored his (Vijay's) request. We have a procedure. Therefore, our party's high-level committee will decide soon. We are going to discuss the merits and demerits of our position," the VCK leader told reporters here.
With regard to the delay in the governor's call to the TVK, which is the single largest party, to form the government, Thirumavalavan requested the governor to invite Vijay to form the government. "It is a constitutional right and people's verdict," he added.
Asserting that the governor cannot say that Vijay should hold 118 MLAs' support now itself to form the government, he said that after taking over power, Vijay has to prove an absolute majority only on the floor of the Assembly.
