High Court dismisses Rajasthan's claim to the property of past Constituent Assembly member Raja Sardar Singh
Supreme Court Upholds Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh's Will, Dismisses Rajasthan Government's Appeal
In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court of India has dismissed an appeal filed by the Rajasthan government challenging the assets of the late Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh. The Court upheld a will made by Singh in 1985, which left all his assets to the Khetri Trust.
Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh, the ruler of Khetri before independence and a former Rajya Sabha member, died in 1987 without leaving behind any children. Upon his death, a testamentary case seeking probate was filed by the executors of the will in the Delhi High Court.
A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court had previously upheld Singh's will, passing his estate to the charitable trust he founded. However, the Rajasthan government challenged this ruling, citing the Rajasthan Escheats Regulation Act, 1956.
The Supreme Court, however, ruled that the Rajasthan government was not entitled to cite the 1956 Act to stake any claim in Singh's estate. The Court rejected the government's claim, observing that the principle of escheatment applies only when a person dies without a will and no familial legal heirs. Since Singh had executed a will, the principle does not apply.
The Court dismissed a plea filed by two relatives of Singh after noting that they had previously withdrawn a civil suit staking claim to Singh's property. The Court imposed costs of ₹1 lakh on each of these relatives for suppression of material facts.
Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora represented Singh's relatives, while Senior Advocates Kapil Sibil and S Niranjan Reddy appeared for the respondents in the plea filed by Singh's relatives. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju appeared for the Rajasthan government.
The Court dismissed the Rajasthan government's appeal, ruling that the government is a stranger to the present dispute since a competent court has already upheld the validity of Singh's will. The Court added that the State cannot claim Singh's property citing the 1956 Act unless there are no such familial heirs left to inherit the property.
The Court further observed that the withdrawal of the objections and the withdrawal of the suit imply that the relatives have no objection whatsoever for the grant of probate of the Will to the respondent-legatees. The Supreme Court's ruling brings finality to the dispute over Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh's assets, with his estate now set to be managed by the Khetri Trust as per his will.
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