 "A Mughal heiress laid claim to Red Fort. Here’s why Supreme Court rejected it")
The Supreme Court has dismissed a ‘Mughal heir’s’ claim on the Red Fort.
A woman who claimed to have Mughal lineage had moved the apex court demanding that she be handed over the iconic Indian monument or be given compensation for the same.
The Supreme Court bench called the claim ‘misconceived and meritless.’
But what do we know? What did the apex court say?
Let’s take a closer look:
What do we know?
As per India Today, the case was filed by one Sultana Begum.
Begum lives near Howrah in Kolkata.
The 60-year-old stays in a cramped and tiny two-room hut.
Begum first filed a case in the Delhi High Court in 2021.
As per NDTV, Begum claimed that in 1960 the government had confirmed that her late husband Bedar Bakht was the descendant and heir of Bahadur Shah Zafar II.
The government also began paying Bakht a pension which transferred to her upon his demise in 1980, she claimed.
Begum contended the pension was too small to meet her requirements. She had said she is willing to give up her claim for financial recompense.
Begum claimed the government had illegally taken the Red Fort from her family. She said the government’s refusal to properly compensate her violated her fundamental rights.
However, Begum’s plea was rejected by the Delhi High Court.
The single-judge bench in December 2021 had said there is no justification for the inordinate delay in approaching the court after over 150 years.
Begum appealed that verdict, but it was rejected once more.
As per India Today, the high court in its decision noted a delay of 900 days in approaching it after the initial verdict.
However, Begum argued that her ill-health prevented her from filing the appeal.
Begum also cited the death of her daughter as a reason.
“We find the said explanation inadequate, considering that the delay is of more than two-and-a-half years. The petition was also dismissed (by the single judge) for being inordinately delayed by several decades. The application for condonation of delay is dismissed. Consequently, the appeal is also dismissed. It is barred by limitation,” the high court had said.
What did the apex court say?
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar termed the plea as “misconceived” and “meritless” at the outset and refused to entertain the petition filed against the Delhi High Court order.
As per NDTV, Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna asked, “Why only Red Fort? Why not Fatehpur Sikri (the capital of the Mughal empire during Akbar’s reign in the late 16th century), Taj Mahal (famously commissioned by Shah Jahan in the 17th)?”
“The petitioner is the family member of the first freedom fighter of the country,” the counsel argued.
The Bench did not allow the counsel for petitioner Sultana Begum to withdraw the plea.
“The writ petition filed initially was misconceived and meritless. It cannot be entertained,” the CJI added.
As per News18, the lawyer for Begum pointed out that the plea had been dismissed on grounds of delay and not on the merits.
However, the apex court rejected the argument.
“No, dismissed," the bench stated.
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