Supreme Court dismisses woman's plea claiming possession of iconic Red Fort

In her original petition, dismissed in December 2021, Begum sought either possession of the Red Fort or compensation, alleging that the British unlawfully took control of the monument after exiling Bahadur Shah Zafar II.

The Supreme Court, on Monday, dismissed a petition filed by a woman claiming to be the widow of the great-grandson of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II, who sought possession of Delhi’s iconic Red Fort on grounds of inheritance.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar refused to entertain the plea, calling it “misconceived” and “without merit” at the outset.

The petition was filed against a Delhi High Court order that had earlier dismissed her appeal.

“This writ petition, from the very beginning, is misconceived and meritless. It cannot be entertained,” CJI Khanna remarked during the hearing.

Petitioner Sultana Begum had claimed that her family was unlawfully dispossessed of the Red Fort by the British East India Company following the 1857 revolt, and that she was the rightful legal heir of the monument as a descendant of the last Mughal emperor.

However, the bench declined to entertain any such argument.

“If we accept this line of reasoning, why stop at the Red Fort? Why not Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, and others?” the CJI observed.

The Delhi High Court had earlier dismissed Begum’s appeal on December 13, 2023, citing an “inordinate delay” of over two-and-a-half years in filing the challenge against a 2021 single-judge order, which had also rejected her claim on the grounds of “several decades of delay.”

Begum had contended that her poor health and the demise of her daughter had delayed the filing. But the High Court termed the explanation “inadequate” and held that the delay could not be condoned.

Begum, in her original petition, dismissed in December 2021, had sought either possession of the Red Fort or compensation, alleging that the British unlawfully took control of the monument after exiling Bahadur Shah Zafar II.

The court, however, found no justification for approaching the judiciary after more than 150 years.

The Supreme Court on Monday also denied her lawyer's request to withdraw the plea, putting an end to the matter.