SC gives Raja Rs 5,000-cr smile
After a long legal battle, the Raja of Mehmoodabad gets back his property valued at around Rs 5,000-6,000 cr.
By TNN |
| Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan |
NEW DELHI: There is every reason for Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan to smile. The scion of the former Raja of Mehmoodabad has waited for years for this day. And it came on Friday when the Supreme Court cleared the last hurdle to restore his father’s property — confiscated in 1965 as the old Raja had migrated to Pakistan — to the son who remained an Indian national.
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Yes, tenants who have been on this property prior to 1965 won’t be evicted, said the court, but the property itself clearly belonged to Amir Mohammad Khan. And what does this property include? Gigantic chunks of Lucknow, massive swathes of Sitapur and Lakhimpur, and acres of Nainital — all put together, valued at anything between Rs 5,000-6,000 crore. The prince’s quest to regain his kingdom has, indeed, had a fairy-tale ending.
| A Battle Royale 1857 | Present raja’s great-grandfather lays down his life in the first war of independence 1927 | Mehmoodabad royal family has an active role in the Simon Commission boycott. It plays host to Motilal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu and other eminent personalities during their visits to Lucknow. The erstwhile Raja Mehmoodabad, Khan Bahadur Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, is treasurer of Muslim League during the last years of British domination 1957 | The present Raja’s father, leaves for Pakistan. The son, Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, stays back with his mother and other siblings 1965 | War with Pakistan. Raja Mehmoodabad’s properties handed over to Custodian, Enemy Property, Mumbai. Meanwhile, Amir Mohammad Khan heads to Cambridge for higher studies in the 1960s. A mathematician turned astro-physicist, he marries diplomat Jagat Mehta’s daughter, Vijay. They have two sons 1997 | Raja files a case in the Supreme Court against the declaration of his properties as ‘enemy property’ ADVERTISEMENT 2005 | Raja wins case in SC. Court orders the Custodian to return the properties to the Raja. In December the same year, Raja gets possession of the first property— Butler Palace and its adjoining lake 2006 June | Raja goes to SC when he faces difficulty in getting possession of other properties 2006, August 7 | Court directs custodian, enemy property to hand over the properties after getting them vacated. The custodian, in turn, orders the district administration to do the needful 2006, August 10 | Another order, a rejoinder, and more clear guidelines follow. Seven buildings are listed among those to be be evicted. These are Lawrie Building, Mehmoodabad Mansion, Halwasiya Market, Malka Zamania, Siddique Building, Zarif Manzil along with Butler Palace ADVERTISEMENT 2006, August 31 | Some of the shop-keepers go to SC arguing that they had signed the contract with the erstwhile Raja himself prior to 1965— when the property was declared enemy property— and so the Custodian cannot order their eviction2006, September 8 | After a couple of hearings, the apex court orders that the pre-1965 shop-keepers cannot be evicted |
From Lucknow’s Hazratganj — which is to the city what Connaught Place is to Delhi or Nariman Point to Mumbai — to busy Astabal Charbagh, along with old city areas Zarif Manzil and Siddique Building, they’ll all be his. But there won’t be any large-scale displacement as many tenancies here go back to well before 1965. If the prince wants them out, he’ll have to bring eviction proceedings against them — a difficult and time-consuming procedure.
At the same time, huge portions of his land is also occupied by the state government. There are officer’s bungalows on it, sprawling office complexes too. These would come into Amir Mohammad’s possession right away. Already the relevant district magistrates have been told by the court to get these lands cleared.
This court order had been interpreted by the officers to include shop-keepers and traders too. Some of the traders had then gone to the apex court seeking relief — and a Bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhan and Markandey Katju provided this to those dating their tenancy to prior to 1965. The clarification provided by the court on Friday was holding back the fairytale denouement so far.
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