Royal heir moves Delhi HC seeking ‘unpaid rent’ from govt for Bikaner House | Latest News Delhi

The daughter of Bikaner’s last king, Dr Karni Singh, has moved the division bench of the Delhi High Court, seeking over 23 years of unpaid rent from the Centre for occupying the historic Bikaner House.

Rajyashree Kumari Bikaner, the heir, is demanding arrears of rent from October 1991 to December 2014.

On Tuesday, a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Tushar Rao Gedela adjourned the case to July, directing Kumari’s counsel to submit key documents, including the 1950 merger agreement between the Government of India and the late Maharaja, and an October 1951 communication in which the Centre acknowledged Bikaner House belonged to Rajasthan and agreed to pay one-third of the rent to the Maharaja as an ex gratia payment.

Kumari has approached the division bench against a single-judge order from February 24 that rejected her plea.

Taking note of Centre’s communication issued in October 1951, and considering the voluntary nature of ex-gratia payments, justice Sachin Datta had ruled that Bikaner House belonged to Rajasthan and that the Centre’s ex gratia payments to the late Maharaja were voluntary, not a legal entitlement that could be inherited.

In her appeal, argued by senior advocate Jayant Mehta, Kumari had asserted that the Centre had never denied the rent payments but kept demanding probated wills, which she provided.

He further submitted that there was no inter se dispute between the heirs of the Maharaja and payment of rent as “ex gratia” was inheritable since the same was received by the Maharaja in his capacity as a “ruler”.

Following the discussion between the Centre and the respective rulers, Bikaner House was classified as state property in 1950 and leased by the Centre from Rajasthan and Dr Karni Singh. Though no formal lease was signed, the Centre agreed to pay ₹3,742 per month — 67% to Rajasthan, and 33% to the Maharaja.

Payments were made regularly to the Rajasthan government until 1986, and to the late Maharaja Karni Singh until 1991. However, the property was vacated by the Centre in December 2014, following the Supreme Court’s order, passed in a suit filed by Rajasthan government seeking possession of Bikaner House.