The Delhi high court has rejected a petition filed by the daughter of Bikaner’s last Maharaja, Dr Karni Singh, claiming outstanding rent for over 23 years from the Union government for occupying the iconic Bikaner House in Lutyens’ Delhi.
The heir, Rajyashree Kumari Bikaner, had sought rent arrears from October 1991 to December 2014.
Taking note of a communication issued by the Centre to the Maharaja in October 1951, in which the former, while acknowledging the fact that Bikaner House belonged to the Rajasthan government, had agreed to pay one third rent to the late Maharaja on ex-gratia basis. However, considering the voluntary nature of such payments, justice Sachin Datta held that the Maharaja’s heirs failed to demonstrate legal rights over the alleged dues and could not claim them as a matter of right.
The heirs, justice Datta said, has further failed to establish legal right over the property. He held that the Bikaner house belonged to the Rajasthan government and it had full and absolute rights over the property.
“The petitioner has failed to establish any legal right over the concerned property, nor has it demonstrated any legal right in respect of any alleged “arrears of rent” from respondent no.1. (Centre). It is an undisputed fact that the property in question is a state (Rajasthan) property. It is well-established in law that ex gratia payments are discretionary and are not enforceable as a matter of legal right. Such payments are made voluntarily by the paying party and cannot be claimed as an entitlement,” the judge said.
“Respondent No. 1 did, in fact, provide the late Dr Karni Singh with one-third of the rent while he was alive, and this was done purely on an ex0gratia basis. After the death of Dr Karni Singh, his heirs cannot claim these payments as a matter of legal right,” justice Datta said.
Following the discussion between the Centre and the respective rulers, Bikaner House was classified as “state property” and was taken on lease by Centre from Rajasthan government and Dr Karni Singh in March 1950. The lease was not formalised through a written lease agreement, but an arrangement was entered between the Centre, Rajasthan government and Dr Karni Singh, as per which the Centre had agreed to pay monthly rent of ₹3,742.
According to the arrangement, 67% of the rent was to be paid to the Rajasthan government, while 33% was to be allocated to the Maharaja. Payments were made regularly to the Rajasthan government until 1986 and to the late Maharaja Karni Singh until 1991.
The Maharaja, before his death in September 1988, had executed a will in 1986, designating the property of Bikaner House as a part of his “residuary estate”. 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.
In its petition, argued by advocate Sriharsha Peechara, Kumari asserted that the Centre failed to uphold its commitment made in an October 1951 letter. It said that after her father’s demise, she in November 1991, had requested the Centre to release the rent in four equal instalments to the legal heirs, but the Centre pursuant to the said representation stopped making payment.
The Rajasthan government submitted that the petition was highly belated and suffered from gross delay since it was filed in 2014, despite the cause of action arising in 2022 and it was the sole and exclusive owner of the Bikaner House.
To be sure, the court dismissed the petition, days after another bench in January had dismissed a plea filed by Nokha Municipal Corporation challenging an arbitral tribunal’s January 2020 order directing it to pay ₹50.3 lakh, to a private firm, which had subsequently led to the attachment of Bikaner House, in execution proceedings. On January 7, the city court extended its stay on the attachment of the Bikaner House after noting that the corporation had deposited a part of the arbitral award.
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