‘Constitute independent agency to look into issues’
*Says Distress Sales Act followed in breach
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 8: Observing that Jammu and Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and Restraint on Distress Sales) Act, 1977 has been followed in breach and obligations cast on the authorities have not been discharged sacredly, Jammu and Kashmir Law Commission headed by Justice (Retd) M K Hanjura has recommended blanket ban on the alienation of property belonging to the internally displaced persons.
The Commission has further recommended constitution of an independent agency to perform the functions as assigned to the District Magistrates under the Act so that speedy action is taken on the property related issues of internally displaced persons.
The Jammu and Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and Restraint on Distress Sales) Act had received the assent of the Governor on May 30, 1997. The Section 3 of the Act imposes restrictions on alienation of immovable property while as Section 4 deals with the custody of the immovable property and Section 5 of the Act prescribes for eviction of unauthorized occupants.
The Act imposes restrictions on alienation of immovable property and it provides that the District Magistrates will take over the possession of immovable properties belonging to the migrants falling within the limits of their territorial jurisdiction. Moreover, the Act states that the unauthorized occupants of any migrant property shall surrender the possession to the competent authority.
“But the fact of the matter is that this Act has been followed in breach and the obligations cast on the authorities don’t appear to have been discharged sacredly for the last more than two decades”, the Law Commission has observed, adding “invariably the District Magistrates have failed to take over the possession of the migrant property in their hold as mandated under the Act and it has not been notified anywhere”.
Moreover, the details of the property have not been made public and to cap it all even the objections have not been invited from the migrants in order to analyze whether any property belonging to the migrants has been left out from the array of the notification of their encroached property and its retrieval.
“Had the intention of this legislation been to resettle the Kashmiri Pandits within the precincts of the valley of Kashmir at any moment of time in that event a blanket ban would have been imposed on the alienation of the migrant property by any mode of transfer which has not been done under the Act”, the Commission said, adding “in order to protect the left out property of this class of helpless citizens which is too small by now as compared to what it was in the year 1990 when and whereafter these properties were put to distress sales a blanket ban on the alienation of the property was and continues to be the need of the hour”.
The Commission has observed that the migrants (as they have been labelled) have been running from pillar to post to press for their grievances but to their dismay their voices were and are still invariably not heard perhaps because of the reason that the District Magistrates who have been entrusted with the task of taking over the possession of immoveable property belonging to the migrants are awfully busy and have to perform multifarious functions.
“Therefore, it shall be apt and proper to constitute an independent agency designed to perform the functions as assigned to the District Magistrates under the Act so that a speedy action is taken in the matter assigned to them”, the Law Commission said, adding “instead of Financial Commissioner Revenue, who is handling immense work the charge and responsibility of hearing the appeals as enshrined in Section 7 of the Act can be assigned to the Special Tribunal where these can be heard expeditiously”.
Accordingly, the Law Commission has recommended that the word “migrant” wherever it exists in the Act shall be substituted with “internally displaced persons” and a blanket ban may be imposed on the alienation of property belonging to such class of people by any mode of transfer till further orders except if such property is required by the Government for public purposes.
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