Raja Comes to riches

The erstwhile ruler of Mehmudabad regains possession of property after 32 years

Pradeep Kapoor Lucknow
December 19 2005 will perhaps remain a memorable day for former Congress MLA Raja Mehmudabad Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, as he regained possession of the prestigious Butler Palace and the adjoining properties in Lucknow as per the direction of the Custodian of Enemy Property, Mumbai. According to an estimate, the total worth of the property restored to him could cross Rs 1,000 crore.

After the former raja of Mehmudabad migrated to Pakistan in 1957, the government of India declared his assets as "enemy property" in 1965 and took possession of them. Following a 32-year legal battle, the former raja's son Mohammed Amir Mohammad Khan, who is an Indian citizen, can now reclaim his father's property.

A bench comprising Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice Altamas Kabir upheld Khan's right to reclaim his father's property that had been vested with a government-appointed custodian, and took a serious view of the manner in which the Indian government had "illegally" denied him the right to enjoy the fruits of his assets all these years and for dealing with the case in a "high-handed" manner.
Directing the government to get all the buildings—residential or offices—and other properties of Khan vacated and to hand them over within eight weeks, Justice Bhan said "an Indian citizen is excluded from the definition of an enemy or enemy subject" under the relevant law applicable in the present case. The court further directed the government to pay him the entire money collected as rent after April 2002 from his buildings within eight weeks. The cut-off date for the refund of the rent was fixed by the court from April 2002 as the Bombay high court had passed an almost identical order the same year directing the union government to hand over Khan's properties to  him, but the centre had filed an appeal in the supreme court against it.

The court took into account the centre's affidavit in which it had accepted that Khan was an Indian citizen as he was born in India. The government had, however, stated that since his father was a Pakistani national, his assets were declared as "enemy property" after the 1965 hostilities between the two countries. Khan's father, who had been the ruler of Mehmudabad in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP), had migrated to Pakistan, while Khan's mother Rani Kaniz Abdi had preferred to stay back in India. The father had died in London on October 14, 1973, and after his death Khan as his lone legal heir sought restoration of the properties to him.

His buildings are currently housing the offices of the district magistrate and the superintendent of police, Sitapur, other offices in the district and residences of various district officers, who did not want to vacate.

Khan was handed over the key of Butler Palace and documents of six others properties in Lucknow. They include the Mehmudabad Mansion, Lawrie Building, Halwasia Market, Lal Kothi, Siddiqui Building and Imambara Malika Zamania.

After taking possession of these properties, an emotional Khan told Hardnews it was for him a "historic moment as it is vindication of my father's stand. He was a nationalist to the core".

Khan, who taught Astro-physics at Cambridge, complimented former prime ministers Moraji Desai for re-opening the case and India Gandhi for her efforts at a resolution of the issue. But, he says, "One phase of struggle is over while the other is still on."  He plans to take a judicious view of how to deal with those occupying his property spread over other parts of UP and Uttaranchal.
 
"My approach would be compassionate and I am ready for negotiations with the existing tenants," Khan asserted. He does not rule out a new landlord-tenant relationship with those occupying his property.

In reply to a question whether thousands of farmers working on land restored to him in Mehmudabad and Sitapur would be uprooted as pointed by local politicians, Raja said, he was opposed to politicising the issue and he would not take steps that would harm others." My approach has always been pro-poor," he said.