Court rejects plea for share in assets of last Faridkot ruler

A Chandigarh court has dismissed a plea filed by a Delhi businessman and nine others seeking share in properties worth around Rs 25,000 crore of erstwhile Faridkot state’s last ruler Harinder Singh Brar.

The plea was filed in the court of the Chandigarh Chief Judicial Magistrate by Delhi businessman Gurpreet Singh and nine others.

The Court has also directed to place on record on the next date of hearing the list of assets that are in possession of the Meharwal Khewaji Trust, which earlier managed the properties.

Earlier in 2022, the Supreme Court had upheld a High Court order directing for the division of assets among the former ruler’s daughters — Amrit Kaur and Deepinder Kaur — and his brother’s family. It had also declared the trust as non-existent. The applicants, claiming to be legal heirs of Maheep Inder Kaur, one of the three daughters of the former ruler, had filed a petition before the court seeking 25% share in the assets.

However, Bharat Bhandari, the counsel for one of the decree holders, Amrinder Singh, grandson of Kanwar Manjit Inder Singh, brother of Harinder Singh Brar, opposed the execution petition. He argued that the petition had been filed with malafide intention and the applicants had no claim in the case.

After hearing the arguments, the court dismissed the petition. The court said the case was fought till the Supreme Court and now a third party, whose application was dismissed by the appellate court while deciding the appeal, could not be allowed to raise a contention with respect to the validity of certain documents.

Harinder Singh Brar was the last ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Faridkot and had died on October 16, 1989.

His daughter Amrit Kaur had filed a civil suit in the Chandigarh District Court in 1992 challenging the veracity of his father’s will.

A second suit was filed by Kanwar Manjit Inder Singh through his legal heirs. The Chandigarh District Court in 2013 declared the will as illegal, non- existence and void, and granted inheritance to Brar’s legal heirs

In June 2020, the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the Chandigarh court order while granting share to the family of the king’s brother also.

Punjab