The Supreme Court on Monday (May 5) rejected a petition filed by a woman, seeking possession of the Red Fort, claiming herself to be the widow of the great-grandson of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar dismissed the petition filed by one Sultana Begum challenging the Delhi High Court’s judgment rejecting her plea.
“Why only the Red Fort? Why leave out the Fatehpur Sikri?,” CJI Khanna asked the petitioner sarcastically. The bench observed that the writ petition was wholly misconceived.
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The woman claimed that the possession was taken away from her forcibly, by British East India Company in 1857. In 2021, a single judge of the High Court had dismissed her petition on the ground of there being an inordinate delay in approaching the Court.
In December 2024, the division bench of the High Court affirmed the single bench’s order.
The plea had claimed Begum to be the rightful owner of Red Fort for the reason of inheriting the property from her ancestor Bahadur Shah Zafar II. It also alleged that the Government of India was illegally occupying the Fort.
The plea had also sought directions on the respondent authorities to grant her compensation from the year 1857 till date for the alleged illegal possession by the Government of India.
