'Red Fort is ours, give us possession of it', when the daughter-in-law of the Mughals appealed to the court, what was the answer?

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Delhi High Court On Sultana Begum: Regarding the possession of Red Fort, the Delhi High Court says that there is no justification for excessive delay in approaching the court after more than 150 years. 

Delhi High Court On Sultana Begum: The Delhi High Court on Friday (December 13, 2024) dismissed the petition filed by the widow of the great-grandson of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar-II, in which he had requested to grant himself ownership of the Red Fort in the capital as a legal heir. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela dismissed Sultana Begum's appeal against the December 2021 decision of a single judge of the High Court. 

The bench said, "This appeal has been filed after a delay of more than two and a half years, which cannot be condoned." Begum said that she could not file the appeal due to her poor health condition and the demise of her daughter, after which the bench said, "We find the said explanation inadequate, considering that the delay is more than two and a half years. The petition was also dismissed (by the single bench) for being delayed for several decades. The application for condonation of delay is dismissed, and the appeal is also dismissed." 

Knocked the door of the court after more than 150 years

On December 20, 2021, a single bench dismissed Begum's plea seeking ownership of the Red Fort illegally taken over by the British East India Company, saying there was no justification for the inordinate delay in approaching the court after over 150 years. 

In 1857 he was deprived of his property

The petition, filed through advocate Vivek More, claimed that the family was deprived of their property by the British after the First War of Independence in 1857 and the emperor was exiled from the country. Apart from this, the possession of the Red Fort was forcibly taken away from the Mughals. It claimed that Begum is the owner of the Red Fort as she inherited it from her ancestor Bahadur Shah Zafar-II. It said that Bahadur Shah Zafar-II died on 11 November 1862 at the age of 82 and the Government of India has illegal possession of (his) property. 

'Hand over possession or pay compensation' 

The petition requested the Central Government to direct it to hand over the possession of the Red Fort to the petitioner or pay adequate compensation. It also demanded compensation for the government's alleged illegal occupation of the Red Fort from the year 1857 till date.

PC:ABPNews