Question of inheritance

It was only in 2005 that the Supreme Court gave a judgment in his favour. Khan had then said,“I petitioned everyone,saying my mother and I are Indians,not enemies. I wanted the stigma of enemy of state on my family to be removed and I am happy that I have won this battle.”

The judgment led to a spate of writ petitions in various high courts by the descendents of persons who had migrated to Pakistan,seeking restoration of properties which had been seized as enemy properties across the country.

The Centre then decided to amend the Enemy Property Act and promulgated an Ordinance on July 2 this year which nullified the effect of the Supreme Court judgment. Following the Ordinance,the Custodian of Enemy Properties,based in Mumbai,issued orders for repossession the assets which had been restored to Khan. Khan was back to square one.

Following protests and petitions,the government then decided to withhold the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill,2010 that had been drafted to replace the Ordinance and make in it certain changes to protect Khan’s properties. The Bill is likely to be moved in the current session of Parliament.

As Khan and his family wait anxiously to know the changes in the Bill,The Indian Express takes a look at some of the properties that they might get back soon.

BUTLER PALACE

The palace,which has an attached lake,was built in Lucknow by Khan’s grandfather Maharaja Sir Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan (1877-1931),in 1919 in honour of the then Deputy Commissioner of Lucknow Sir Harcourt Butler. The foundation of this five-storied building was laid in 1915 by Butler himself. The palace served as Butler’s official residence. Soon after Independence,the vast land around the palace was acquired by the state government for construction of houses for its officers. Till a decade ago,the Butler Palace Colony was the exclusive domain of bureaucrats. Most houses were allotted to IAS,IPS and state civil services officers. Now,ministers and judicial officers also live there. Until 2005,Butler Palace housed the office of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research. The council vacated the palace following the Supreme Court order. Currently,the building is vacant and under the possession of the Custodian of the Enemy Properties. Khan had drawn ambitious plans to convert the building into a heritage hotel. No estimate of the worth of palace is available.

Lawrie Building and Mahmudabad Mansion

Located in the shopping hub of Hazratganj. Currently,very few in Lucknow will be able to tell the location of Lawrie Building,which was named after a British officer. But name Royal Cafe and Capoor Hotel,and everyone will know. For,if Capoor Hotel is Lucknow’s oldest hotel,Royal Cafe is one of the oldest and still popular restaurants. During the seventies,Capoor Hotel was a very important political address,for Indira Gandhi’s troubleshooter Yashpal Kapoor always stayed in this hotel. Other tenants in the building include a coffee shop,an electronic goods shop and an upmarket garment store. None of the tenants,however,face eviction as all of them have been tenants since before 1965,the cut-off date fixed by the court. However,they have no idea of the situation that would emerge after the passage of the Bill by Parliament. The Mahmudabad Mansion is another valuable commercial property,which houses a furniture shop,an electronic goods dealer and a textile and garments shop and a bank branch. Halwasiya Market and Halwasiya Court are other important properties in Hazratganj which have substantial land that is used as parking. These properties were given by Khan’s father to a local businessman Halwasiya on 99 years lease which ends in 2027. These properties have close to 100 big and small shops,offices,coaching institutes and a bank branch.

Metropole Hotel,Nainital

Spread over 8.7 acres of prime land,it was built by the British in 1880,and purchased by Khan’s grandfather in the 1920s. The hotel is situated on a prime location opposite Naini Lake. “We got possession of the hotel soon after the Supreme Court judgment in October 2005. Then it was in a dilapidated condition as it was kept locked by the district administration. In the past 18 months,we have spent substantial amount on restoration and repair of the building. The state government,however,took back the possession of the hotel building after the Ordinance amending the Enemy Property Act was issued in July,” said Ali Mohammed,manager of the hotel.

OTHER PROPERTIES

There are sprawling properties,scattered across what was once the kingdom of Awadh,in the family’s ancestral seat,Mahmudabad in Sitapur district,and also in Lakhimpur and Barabanki districts. In Sitapur district,the prime properties,which were vacated in December 2005 and taken under possession again by the administration after the promulgation of the Ordinance,are the official bungalow of the district magistrate on 17 acres,the SP’s residence on 7 acres and the chief medical officer’s bungalow on 13 acres,among others. In Sitapur district,the assets include 80 acres on which a sugar mill of UP State Sugar Corporation was constructed after Independence. After the SC judgment,juridical (symbolic) possession of the land of the sugar mill,a PSU textile unit and a government polytechnic was handed over to Khan. In Mahmudabad town,the palace of the royal family,spread over a vast area,was handed over Khan in 2005. It is now back in possession of the Custodian. In Lakhimpur,Khan gets around 60 acres of land,including the SP’s bungalow. In Barabanki,there are 40 acres encompassing a degree college.