Red Fort Ownership Row: Supreme Court Rejects Mughal Descendant’s Plea for Possession

Supreme Court dismisses Mughal descendant’s plea seeking ownership of the Red Fort

The Supreme Court rejected a petition by Sultana Begum seeking possession of the Red Fort. Begum described herself as the widow of the great-grandson of the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II. She claimed that as a direct descendant of the Mughal dynasty, she was eligible to reclaim the iconic 17th-century monument.

Begum appeared before a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, and her plea was quickly dismissed as the court called it ‘completely misconceived.’

In a singing observation, the CJI questioned why the petitioner’s claim is so limited. “Why Red Fort alone? Why not Fatehpur Sikri? Why exclude them also?” CJI Khanna asked, mentioning other prominent Mughal sites. The bench affirmed that there was no legal basis for the writ petition and rejected it outright.

Earlier Claims Rejected by Delhi High Court

This is not the first instance that Sultana Begum has gone to court over the Red Fort. In 2021, she had made a similar plea in the Delhi High Court, contending that the British had taken the fort following the 1857 uprising, during which her husband’s ancestor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was a key player. Zafar was banished to Rangoon, now known as Yangon, in 1858, and Mughal properties were confiscated.

Begum asserted that her family had been denied their property and prayed for either possession or monetary compensation. She further indicated that the Indian government once recognized her deceased husband, Mirza Mohammed Bedar Bakht, as a descendant by granting him a pension, which she has been receiving since 1980. But she alleged that the payment was not enough to sustain her.

Her first plea was rejected by a single-judge bench on account of a delay of more than a century in filing the claim. A second appeal filed in 2023 was also turned down, this time on account of a delay of over 900 days. Ill health and illiteracy were given as the reasons for delay.

Supreme Court Dismisses Plea on Merits

The lawyers of the petitioner submitted to the Supreme Court during the hearing, whereby the petition ought to have been dismissed by the Supreme Court by reason of sheer procedural delay, as the High Court had done, rather than on the merits. The Apex Court declined this submission on the ground that the petition was without any legal merit and should be rejected on all scores.

From Royalty to Simple Living

Now, Sultana Begum, far removed from the princely comforts of the Mughal dynasty, lives in a small two-room house in the Howrah district of Kolkata. While successive legal defeats failed to stifle the national spotlight on her fighting for recognition, the scenario offers a poignant glimpse of childhood lost among royal legacies in India.