HC asks Pataudi family to submit evidence about land rights

JABALPUR: Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted one week's time to the family of the late cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi to submit evidence regarding the claim that the land acquired for the VIP Road here belonged to them.

Two petitions challenging the land acquisition were filed by Pataudi's wife Sharmila Tagore, son Saif Ali and daughters Saba and Soha Ali in the High Court in 2012.

The division bench headed by Justice Alok Aradhe yesterday granted one week's time to the Pataudi family to submit evidence about the ownership of the land in question.

Earlier, Bhopal Municipal Corporation's lawyer had contended that the family had not submitted any evidence.

The petitioners allege that the four-lane road which runs parallel to the Upper Lake has been constructed illegally by the BMC on their land. Also, the wall built by the corporation along the road obstructs free movement on the remaining land, they say.

Earlier, the court has directed the government to pay compensation to the Pataudi family for the 14 acres of land acquired for the road.

However, the family filed an application stating that it did not want compensation, and as per the revenue records the Upper Lake was registered in the name of Pataudi's mother, Begum Sajida Sultan, and the family uses it for farming and fisheries.

Pataudi's lawyer, Rajesh Pancholi, argued that the government had encroached upon their land.