The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by a Mughal descendent seeking possession of Red Fort. The petitioner Sultana Begum is the widow of the great-grandson of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar-II. The appeal was filed against a 2021 decision by a single judge of the high court, which had earlier dismissed her petition,
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela dismissed the appeal citing long delay of two and half years in filing the plea against the 2021 verdict. The single judge had also dismissed the plea citing delay, as the fort was taken over by the British long ago.
Sultana Begum claimed that the possession of Red Fort was taken away from her forcibly by British East India Company in 1857. The plea had claimed that Begum is the rightful owner of Red Fort, as she inherited the property from her ancestor Bahadur Shah Zafar II.
The plea filed through advocate Vivek More further argued that the Government of India was illegally occupying the Fort. Begum also sought compensation from 1857 till date for alleged illegal occupation of the fort by the Indian govt.
The petition made a request for the Centre to either return the Red Fort to the petitioner or provide compensation dating back to its capture in 1857 after the First War of Independence.
Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila, was commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan after moving the capital from Agra to Delhi. Originally a red and white marble palace, the fort was plundered during the Nadir Shah’s invasion and most of the artwork and jewels were taken away, including the legendary Peacock Throne.
Later the British removed the marble structures after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and started to use it as a military garrison. The British demolished around 80% structures of the fort, removed all the furniture, and erected stone barracks for army. Jewels and artwork left behind after the Nadir Shah invasion were taken to England, and many of the are in the British Museum.
After independence, Red Fort remained to be used as a military base. However in 2003, the fort was transferred to the Archaeological Survey of India for restoration and conservation by the Vajpayee government.
