Jaipur royals want back fine, not gold

Brig (retd) Bhawani Singh, who has moved the Delhi high court, is not fighting for the 800 kg of gold the income-tax (I-T) department seized from the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur in 1975, as reported in a section of the media. The gold was “reclaimed” two years later, in 1977.

Former royal Bhawani Singh wants back the fine the Centre levied on the family for violating law by not disclosing the metal.

The Centre’s lawyer SK Dubey said the I-T department confiscated around 800 kg of gold during raids on the royals from February 11 to 13, 1975. The gold was seized because the family had not disclosed it as required by law.

But Dubey was not aware if the royals received the entire gold or part of it. He said arguments in the case were still on.

“Under the Gold Control Act and the Indian Defence Rules of 1968, no citizen was allowed to keep gold in primary form such as bricks or coins. It was supposed to be converted into jewellery through an authorised dealer,” he said.

Subsequently, the entire gold of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family was seized. However, the family was told that it could redeem the gold by paying a fine of Rs1.5 crore, besides a personal penalty of Rs5 lakh.

The family challenged this order before an appellant authority,
which ruled against it but reduced the redemption amount from Rs1.5 crore to Rs1 crore.

The Centre also ruled against the royals but again reduced the redemption amount to Rs80 lakh. Besides, the personal penalty of Rs5 lakh was waived.

“The royal family paid the amount and took the gold. However, it later challenged the Centre’s decision in the Delhi high court,” Dubey said.