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Maharani Deepinder Kaur (Since Deceased) Through LRs. vs Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

Not available · 2022 INSC 934Decided 7 Sept 2022
Not available
Sudhanshu Dhulia

Background

This was a decades-long family dispute over succession to the private properties left behind by Raja Harinder Singh, the former ruler of Faridkot State, who died in 1989. Multiple descendants and claimants (invoking a disputed will, the rule of primogeniture (succession to the eldest male heir), and ordinary intestate succession law) fought over the estate through the trial court and the Punjab & Haryana High Court, which delivered a common judgment in three connected second appeals in 2020. Three separate sets of Special Leave Petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging different parts of that High Court judgment, and were heard together since they arose from the same facts and record.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's findings on all three fronts. It rejected the argument that the suit was time-barred or improperly framed, holding that the concurrent findings of the trial court, first appeal, and High Court did not warrant interference. It rejected the claim based on the rule of primogeniture, agreeing with the courts below that no case was made for male-line-only succession to private property (as opposed to any special "Gaddi"/title succession). It also upheld the finding that a registered will executed by the Ruler's mother, Maharani Mohinder Kaur, was validly proved and governed her share of the properties, meaning intestate succession law applied to the rest of the estate. All three sets of petitions were dismissed. The Court also gave directions for handing over financial records to the trial court and for the eventual transfer of control of a charitable hospital run by a family trust to the court executing the decree.

Lesson Learnt

Even for former royal families, private property left by a deceased person is governed by ordinary succession law and validly proved wills: historical titles, customs like primogeniture, or a princely "Gaddi" do not automatically extend to private property unless the law specifically says so; and the Supreme Court will rarely disturb concurrent factual findings reached by three lower courts on the same evidence.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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