- Why in news
- On 4 February 2026 the Home Ministry told the Rajya Sabha that enemy properties worth Rs 2,930 crore had been sold by 28 January 2026, and listed steps to speed up disposal.
- What it is
- The Enemy Property Act, 1968 vests properties left in India by people who migrated to Pakistan or China after the wars in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI). The CEPI, under the Home Ministry, manages and disposes of them under the Act and its rules.
- Disposal route
- CEPI places valuation reports before the Enemy Property Disposal Committee, which recommends disposal to the Central Government.
- Auction easing
- Pre-bid EMD was cut from 10% to 5%. Payment time was raised from 21 to 120 days.
Don’t confuse with Enemy Property Act vs Evacuee Property laws: Evacuee property laws dealt with property left by people who moved across the border at Partition and were handled by a separate regime. The Enemy Property Act covers property of nationals of enemy countries after the 1965 war and later wars.
Laws, judgments and statutory bodies: 30 Prelims questions since 2013 (what the law says, who chairs, legal basis). In Mains, 44 news-triggered questions, most in GS2, asking for provisions and challenges.
Why it matters
- Brings idle state-held assets into use and earns revenue.
- Settles long-pending ownership questions over properties across many states.
Problems
- Litigation and claims by heirs delay disposal.
- Encroachment and poor records make valuation and sale hard.
Way forward
- Keep digitising records and survey all properties.
- Use fast-track forums to settle disputes, and publicise auctions widely.
Put in your answer
Reserve price rule: If three e-auctions get no bids, the reserve price drops by 10% and the property is re-auctioned.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Law with custodian and disposal rules on the syllabus; this reply is routine monetisation data, so a fresh question is unlikely.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.