The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to consider a plea by a woman seeking possession of the Red Fort on the ground that she was the legal heir of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II.
Justice Rekha Palli questioned the petitioner Sultana Begum as to why there was a delay of more than 150 years in the family approaching the court.
“You claim injustice was done to you by the British East India Company in 1857. What were you doing for all these years,” the bench asked.
Her counsel submitted that the delay was due to various factors including that the woman was illiterate.
The court also pointed out there was no document support the petitioner's claim that she was related to the last Mughal emperor.
“Everyone knows Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled by the British, but if his heirs did not file any plea can she do it,” the bench further questioned the woman's counsel.
In her plea, the woman submitted that she was the widow of the great-grandson of Bahadur Shah Zafar II. She contended her family had been deprived of their property by the British East India Company. After the first war of Independence in 1857, Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled and possession of the Red Fort was taken away from the Mughals.
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