The administration will take possession of the enemy properties of Raja Mahmudabad in Lucknow whose leases will expire.

News Topical, Digital Desk : The lease term for several properties granted by Raja Mahmudabad for 99 years expires next year. The administration will now take possession of these properties.

The Custodian of Enemy Property's office has clarified that occupants' lease periods will no longer be extended. There are many properties in Lucknow that have been occupied by tenants for a long time.

There are approximately two hundred identified enemy properties in the capital. The occupants of these properties owe crores of rupees in rent, for which notices are being issued continuously. Despite this, most occupants have not paid rent for a long time. The highest number of 125 enemy properties are located in Sadar Tehsil.

Court case on ownership

Additionally, court cases are ongoing regarding the ownership of several properties. Many occupants have violated lease terms and altered the original structure of the properties. Some have constructed structures without obtaining permission from the Enemy Property Custodian Office and are renting them out to third parties.

An official said the Home Ministry has already clarified that leases for enemy properties will no longer be extended. Therefore, the administration will take possession of properties whose leases are expiring.

Raja Mahmudabad's estate extended over several districts, including Lucknow, Sitapur, and Lakhimpur. After independence, Raja Mahmudabad fled to Iraq and settled in Pakistan in 1957. He then moved to London, where he died.

After Raja Amir Ahmed Khan's death, his son, Raja Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, alias Suleman Mian, returned to India from London in 1975 and claimed possession of the properties. A lengthy legal battle ensued, reaching the Supreme Court, but after the Enemy Act Ordinance was passed, the government seized all the properties.

In the wake of the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971, there was a significant migration of people from India to Pakistan. Under the Defence of India Rules, enacted under the Defence of India Act, 1962, the government declared the properties of those who had taken Pakistani nationality as enemy property and confiscated them. Consequently, all properties in Raja Mahmudabad came under the government's control.

Some of the major enemy properties in Lucknow

Butler Palace belonging to Raja Mahmudabad Mohammad Aamir Mohammad Khan, Halwasiya Court, Lari Building, Mahmudabad Mansion, old SSP office building, Kaiserbagh Hata, Lal Kothi located in Golaganj, Warsi Building of Amina Bad, Kaneez Saida Begum old Bari Khana Kothi of Chowk area, Hyderi Begum Haveli located in Clay Square, Abdul Latif Hata Khan, Abdul Khaleem's old building located in Naubasta and Siddiqui Building.

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