Gayatri wills property to grandkids

The family has property worth Rs 2,000 crore

The will of Gayatri Devi, to be declared on August 9 after the mourning period is over, has bequeathed her wealth both in India and England to Devraj Singh and Lalitya Kumari Singh, the children of her only son Jagat Singh.

Before her death, Gayatri Devi in April 2009 decided not to contest the succession dispute and the issue had been amicably sorted out, Devraj’s advocate said.

As a result of the settlement, Gayatri Devi, Devraj and Lalitya became the inheritors of the property of Jagat Singh, who died in London on February 5, 1997.
Devraj and Lalitya had filed a petition before the Company Law Board (CLB) in 2006 claiming shares in the property left by their father.

Gayatri Devi had claimed that Jagat Singh had willed his property to her and dispossessed his estranged wife Rajawongse Priyanandana Rangsit and his two minor children of his property.

Devraj and Lalitya had alleged that the shares of Jai Mahal Palace Hotels Pvt Ltd, having 99 percent share in the name of Jagat Singh, had been fraudulently transferred to his stepbrother Prithviraj and his sons with the open consent of their grandmother.

Rangsit, a member of the Thai royal family, had come to India with her son and daughter to claim a share in the property which Jagat Singh left behind after his death.

Devraj and Lalitya had been living with their mother in Thailand after the separation of their parents in 1984 and divorce in 1987.

The Jaipur royal family has more than Rs 2000 crore worth of property, including royal palaces, five-star hotels, jewellery and heritage ornaments.

Jagat and Rangsit had a love marriage on May 10, 1978 while both of them were studying in London.

Even the queen of England and many royal dignitaries from Europe had attended the ceremony organised in London.

Devraj’s Advocate said the claim suit before the CLB would be withdrawn once the will of Gayatri Devi is executed through a court in Jaipur.