The Delhi High Court on Friday, December 13, 2024, rejected the claim by Sultana Begum, widow of Mirza Mohammed Bedar Bakht—great-grandson of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II—to possess the Red Fort, deeming her legal appeal to be too delayed. The bench, consisting of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, dismissed the appeal citing that it was filed after more than two-and-a-half years beyond the allowed time frame.
“You have come 164 years too late,” remarked the bench in a blunt observation, reiterating the primary reason for dismissal. Ms. Begum, who asserted her right to the historic site as the rightful heir to the Mughal emperor, had initially filed the appeal challenging a 2021 decision by a single-judge bench. The court had dismissed her petition, pointing to a significant delay in seeking possession of the Red Fort—an issue that dates back to the aftermath of the First War of Indian Independence in 1857.
"We find the said explanation inadequate, considering that the delay is of more than two-and-a-half years. The petition was also dismissed (by the single judge) for being inordinately delayed by several decades. The application for condonation of delay is dismissed. Consequently, the appeal is also dismissed. It is barred by limitation," the Court stated.
Begum had argued that she was the rightful owner of the Red Fort as an heir to Bahadur Shah Zafar II, and that the Government of India was unlawfully occupying the property. She contended that the Mughal family was dispossessed of the Red Fort by the British after the 1857 uprising, following which the East India Company exiled the emperor and took control of the monument.
The petition sought either the return of the Red Fort to Begum or compensation for its unlawful occupation dating back to the mid-19th century. Begum also pointed out that in 1960, the government recognized Mirza Mohammed Bedar Bakht as the inheritor of the Mughal throne and granted him a political pension. She married Bedar Bakht in 1965, and after his death in 1980, she continued receiving a pension.
However, the Delhi High Court did not find merit in these claims. The bench also recalled the remarks made in the 2021 judgment, which observed: "Even if the petitioner's case were to be accepted that late Bahadur Shah Zafar II was illegally deprived of his property by the East India Company, as to how the writ petition would be maintainable after such an inordinate delay of over 164 years when it is an admitted position that the petitioner's predecessors were always aware of this position."
In her appeal, Begum cited her health issues and the death of her daughter as reasons for the delay. However, the bench found these explanations insufficient, noting that the delay was more than two-and-a-half years.
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