Delhi businessman, 9 others stake claim to Faridkot ruler's Rs 25,000 crore estate
A businessman from Delhi, Sardar Gurpreet Singh, and nine others have approached Chandigarh District Court to claim their share in the properties worth over Rs 25,000 crore of the former ruler of Faridkot State, Harinder Singh Brar.
These individuals, claiming to be legal beneficiaries of Rajkumari Maheep Inder Kaur (one of the three daughters of the former King of Faridkot), have filed an execution petition before the court. They stated that King Harinder Singh Brar had three daughters — Amrit Kaur, Deepinder Kaur, and Maheepinder Kaur — and one son.
After the king’s death, the following class one heirs were alive and entitled to inherit his property in equal shares of 25 per cent each: Maharani Mohinder Kaur (mother), and daughters Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur, Maharani Deepinder Kaur, and Rajkumari Maheep Inder Kaur.
Rajkumari Maheep Inder Kaur passed away on July 26, 2001, leaving behind a last will dated December 11, 1995. The claimants have filed for a 25 per cent share in the properties based on her last will and other supporting documents, including an irrevocable assignment deed and affidavit dated December 11, 1995, and a registered power of attorney and affidavit dated March 19, 1998.
Earlier, Amrinder Singh, grandson of Kanwar Manjit Inder Singh (brother of Harinder Singh Brar), had filed an execution petition for distributing his 33.33 per cent share of properties after the issue was decided by the Supreme Court. His petition is still pending in court.
Harinder Singh Brar was the last ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Faridkot. His son, Tikka Harmohinder Singh, died in 1981, and the king slipped into depression, passing away on October 16, 1989.
One of his daughters, Amrit Kaur, filed a civil suit in Chandigarh District Court in 1992, challenging the will executed by the king and questioning its authenticity. A second suit was filed by Kanwar Manjit Inder Singh through his legal heirs.
Chandigarh District Court declared the will in favour of Maharawal Khewaji Trust as illegal, non-existent, and void in 2013, granting inheritance to Brar’s daughters. The Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld this order in June 2020, granting shares to the family of the king’s brother. The Supreme Court later upheld this order in September 2022.
The properties of the king include Raj Mahal in Faridkot (spread over 14 acres), Qila Mubarak in Faridkot, New Delhi’s Faridkot house (located on prime land on Copernicus Marg), a plot in Sector 17, Chandigarh, and Fort at Manimajra. Many other properties are situated across the country.
The claimants have also requested the court to direct the preparation of an inventory of all properties to carry out valuation and distribute the 25 per cent share in the entire property to the decree holder according to the law.
