NAINITAL: Uttarakhand high court has questioned whether the India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950, gives Nepalese citizens an unrestricted right to settle and buy property in India, and asked govt to clarify whether Indian nationals receive the same privileges in Nepal in practice.A division bench of Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay raised the issue while hearing a PIL filed by Nainital resident Pawan Jatav against the Union of India and others. The petitioner alleged that around 25 families from Nepal had occupied govt and nazool land in Nainital city and near Bajun in Khurpatal gram sabha over the past several years without obtaining Indian citizenship.The petition also alleged that they had procured voter ID cards, driving licences, permanent residence certificates, ration cards and PAN cards through administrative loopholes, which helped them get included in voter lists, secure water and electricity connections and avail benefits under govt welfare schemes.During the hearing, counsel for Union govt relied on Article 7 of the 1950 treaty, which provides that India and Nepal shall grant each other’s nationals, on a reciprocal basis, the same privileges in matters of residence, property ownership, participation in trade and commerce, movement and other privileges of a similar nature. The bench, however, questioned whether this reciprocity was being followed in practice and said govt had not placed on record what rights were actually being extended to Indian nationals in Nepal.In its written order, the court said, “It has not been disclosed what privileges are being given to Indian nationals by Nepal which is necessary to ascertain whether Nepali citizens are entitled to settle in the country without any formal permission from the govt.” The petitioner’s counsel argued that the treaty could not be read as blanket permission for foreign nationals to acquire property in India without following Indian law. The counsel added that any purchase of immovable property by a foreign national, including a Nepali citizen, must comply with the regulatory framework and, where required, prior approval from the RBI.The court said the state’s affidavit referred to the treaty but did not explain the modalities under which Nepalese citizens were settling and purchasing land in India, and directed state govt to file a comprehensive affidavit within three weeks, clarifying the policy and legal framework under which such residence, settlement and property transactions were being permitted. The PIL sought action against officials who allegedly issued identity documents to the families and a halt to the alleged encroachments. The matter will be listed after three weeks.
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