The management of the erstwhile Royal Palace of Jaipur submitted before the Company Law Board that they did not have any rights over the property.
NEW DELHI: The management of the erstwhile Royal Palace of Jaipur, which is at the centre of a succession battle involving Queen Mother Gayatri Devi's grand children, on Thursday submitted before the Company Law Board that they did not have any rights over the property.
"They (grand children Devraj Singh and Lalitya Kumari) are claiming that their father's will is forged and manipulated. If that is so then by law (Gayatri Devi's son) Jagat Sigh died intestate (without any will)," the counsel for palace Chairman Thakur Hari Singh argued.
Devraj Singh and Lalitya Kumari are seeking management control of the property, which has since been converted into a heritage hotel and leased to the Taj Group. The property is being administered by Gayatri Devi's stepson Hari Singh.
Completing his arguments before CLB, Hari Singh's counsel contended: "And as per the record that is the lone will of late Jagat Singh. In such case Queen Mother would also get a share in Jagat's property."
Jagat Singh, who died in London in 1997, was the fourth and youngest son of Sawai Man Singh II, the last ruling King of Jaipur, and Gayatri Devi.
As per the rules and regulation of the Hindu Succession Act, mother is a class-I heir and is equally entitled for her son's property, counsel said.
The grandchildren Devraj Singh (25) and Lalitya Kumari (27), born out of Jagat Singh's marriage to a Thai princess, were alone not entitled for late Jagat's share in the property, he argued.
Moreover, the Queen Mother has not been made party to the suit, so Devraj has no locus standi in this case and thus the petition is not maintainable, he concluded.
During the proceedings, Hari Singh's counsel also contended that it is matter of succession and the Company Law Board has no jurisdiction over the issue.
Jagat's controversial will is still pending before a city civil court of Jaipur for probation. On Wednesday, Hari Singh contended that both Devraj Singh and Lalitya Kumari, born out of Jagat Singh's marriage to a Thai princess, were not Indian citizens and thus were debarred from claiming any property as per the provisions of the Indian Succession Act (ISA).
Devraj Singh and Lalitya Kumari both are currently holding Thai passports and are foreign nationals.
As per the Reserve Bank of India regulations, no foreign national can claim or inherit shares in any property through succession until its approval.
Hari Singh, a stepson of Gayatri Devi, also contended that the applicant (Devraj) does not even possess a share certificate of the property. They also left their father's will transferring shares of the company neglected for more than a decade. Later, the CLB posted the matter for hearing next week.
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