Faridkot ruler’s grandnephew gets 1/3rd share in Rs 40K-cr property

A local court has granted 33.33 per cent of the legal heirs’ share in the Rs 40,000-crore property of Faridkot’s last ruler Harinder Singh Brar to Amrinder Singh, grandson of Kanwar Manjit Inder Singh, brother of the last ruler.

An execution plea was filed by Amrinder Singh through advocates Vivek Bhandari and Bharat Bhandari one year after the Supreme Court upheld an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court distributing the royal property among the legal heirs.

In its order, the Chandigarh court said in the plea, the decree holder had mentioned that the share of Raja Harinder Singh Brar went to his four legal heirs — Maharani Mohinder Kaur (mother), and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Maharani Deepinder Kaur and Rajkumari Maheep Inder Kaur (daughters).

The high court, in its judgment dated June 1, 2020, had held that the late Bharat Inder Singh, father of Amrinder Singh, would succeed the proportionate share of the late Maharani Mohinder Kaur on the basis of a registered will dated March 29, 1990, executed by her. Now, during the pendency of the dispute between the parties, Rajkumari Maheep Inder Kaur died intestate and now, the dispute was with regard to her share.

Rajkumari Maheep Inder Kaur had two sisters — Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Maharani Deepinder Kaur. However, advocate Karambir Singh Nalwa, assisted by advocate Rajat Mathur, appearing for the heirs of Maharani Deepinder Kaur, opposed the petition increasing the share of Amrinder Singh as per the Hindu Succession Act.

After hearing the arguments, the court said, “In these circumstances, it is clear that the share of Rajkumari Maheep Inder Kaur will first go back to her father Maharaja Harinder Singh, and from there to his legal heirs — Maharani Mohinder Kaur, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Rajkumari Deepinder Kaur — in equal share.

This means the total share of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur will be 33.33 per cent, of Rajkumari Deepinder Kaur 33.33 per cent and that of the legal heir of the late Maharani Mohinder Kaur 33.33 per cent.

The legal fight for the royal properties continued for over 30 years among the heirs of Faridkot’s former king. Harinder Singh Brar was the last ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Faridkot, who was crowned as the king at the age of three in 1918.

Brar and his wife Narinder Kaur had three daughters and a son.

However, his son died in 1981. After the death of his son, Harinder Singh Brar slipped into depression and his will was executed around seven to eight months later. One of his daughters, Amrit Kaur, filed a civil suit in a Chandigarh court, challenging the will in 1992 and questioning its authenticity. The court, in 2013, declared the will dated June 1, 1982, in favour of Maharawal Khewaji Trust as illegal, non-existent and void, and granted inheritance to Brar’s daughters. In June 2020, the high court upheld a Chandigarh court’s order with a modification granting a share to the family of the king’s brother.

The properties of the last ruler include Raj Mahal in Faridkot, spread over 14 acres; Qila Mubarak in Faridkot; Faridkot House, located on prime land on Copernicus Marg, New Delhi; a plot in Sector 17, Chandigarh; and a fort at Manimajra. Several other properties of the king are located all over the country.