?? OCI and Jammu & Kashmir State Property

[macgyver]

Hi there,

I am applying for ILR next week and thinking of getting the British Citizenship in one years time.
I am from Jammu & Kahmir State and my parents and relatives live there.
I understand after British Citizenship and OCI card you can inherit and buy property in India but not in J&K.

To buy property in J&K you have to have a "State Subject" (a document issued to the residents of the state) for any Indian.
What I am not clear is what happens to my state subject after I get a British Pasport?
Would I be able to inherit the property of my parents in Jmammu & Kashmir?

Many thanks for reading this and any information you might have gratefully received>

[krazydude]

A few questions -

- Could you not get a "State Subject" certificate now ?

- Is there an expiry date on the "State Subject" certificate ?

- Does the "State Subject" certificate get cancelled if you become a foreign national ?

Without an Indian Passport and OCI, getting "State Subject" certificate might be tricky (or even possible ??) but if the answer to Q3 above is "No" (and this needs to be checked with J&K State authorities), then acquiring an OCI after you have the "State Subject" certificate would not restrict/suspend your rights which you were provided.

[macgyver]

Thanks for the reply.
1 I got the state subject when I was residing there. Dont know if I could get 1 now if i didnt have any
2 There is no expiry on state subject
3 I do not know if it gets cancelled on acquiring foreign citizenship.... hence the Q.

Thank you

[be2008]

I am in the same position and looking to find out that will I lose J&K State Subject after I have the OCI status.

[mehrinu]

I am in the same situation.

The law on this issue is not 100% settled. The law on state subjects in J&K is based on the Maharaja's decrees on the state subject issue dating back to the 1920s (i.e. prior to the enactment of the J&K Constitution). The J&K Constitution tells us who is a state subject at the date of commencement of the Constitution, but it does not tell us anything about who may become a state subject after that date and how state subject status can be lost.

There is a famous High Court judgment on this issue (the Sawhney case) in which the High Court set out some general principles of state subject law:

- as the J&K Legislature has not passed any Act to define who is a state subject (despite having power to do so under the J&K Constitution), the question of who is or is not a state subject involves looking at the original Maharaja's decrees

- the decrees themselves do not provide for the termination of state subject status (except in one case where a female state subject ceases to be permanently resident in J&K)

- therefore, the acquisition of foreign citizenship by itself will not deprive a state subject of that status because there is no legal provision to that effect and the Courts will not imply such a provision given the drastic consequences

Overall, the balance of legal opinion is that a state subject who gives up or loses Indian nationality does not cease to be a state subject.

Also - you should note that it is only acquisition of land by sale etc. that requires one to be a state subject. Inheritance of land is not restricted only to state subjects. Hence, a non-state subject can inherit (as opposed to purchasing) land in J&K.

[macgyver]

Thank you.
Very helpful Mehrinu.

[ranjnaduggal]

You Can purchase or sell their property in India. NRI has right to buy and sell their property in India.