Delhi Businessman, Others Stake Claim to Rs 25,000-Crore Estate of Faridkot’s Former Ruler
Sardar Gurpreet Singh, a businessman from Delhi, along with nine others, has approached the Chandigarh District Courts seeking a share in the vast estate of the late Harinder Singh Brar, the last ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Faridkot. The claimed assets are estimated to be worth over ₹25,000 crore.
The petitioners have filed an execution plea asserting that they are the legal beneficiaries of Rajkumari Maheep Inder Kaur, one of Brar’s three daughters. According to them, Brar had three daughters—Amrit Kaur, Deepinder Kaur, and Maheep Inder Kaur—as well as a son, Tikka Harmohinder Singh, who passed away in 1981. Brar himself died on October 16, 1989, after suffering from depression following his son’s death.
The claimants argue that upon Brar’s death, four “Class I heirs” were eligible to inherit equal shares of his estate: his mother, Maharani Mohinder Kaur, and his daughters Amrit Kaur, Deepinder Kaur, and Maheep Inder Kaur. They are now seeking to claim a 25% share through the will of Maheep Inder Kaur, who died on July 26, 2001.
In support of their petition, the group has submitted a will dated December 11, 1995, as well as an irrevocable assignment deed and affidavit from the same date. They have also provided a registered power of attorney and another affidavit dated March 19, 1998.
Previously, Amrinder Singh, grandson of Brar’s brother Kanwar Manjit Inder Singh, filed a similar execution petition seeking distribution of his 33.33% share in the properties. That petition remains pending before the court.
The long legal battle over Brar’s estate began in 1992, when his daughter Amrit Kaur filed a civil suit in Chandigarh challenging the will that had left most of the estate to the Maharawal Khewaji Trust. Another legal challenge was brought by Kanwar Manjit Inder Singh’s heirs.
In 2013, the Chandigarh District Court declared Brar’s will in favor of the trust as illegal and void, awarding inheritance rights to his daughters. This decision was upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in June 2020, which also granted a share to the descendants of Brar’s brother. The Supreme Court reaffirmed the ruling in September 2022.
Brar’s properties include the 14-acre Raj Mahal and Qila Mubarak in Faridkot, the prestigious Faridkot House on Copernicus Marg in New Delhi, a plot in Sector 17 of Chandigarh, and a fort in Mani Majra, among several others located across the country.
The current petitioners have also requested the court to order an inventory and valuation of all properties, so that their claimed 25% share can be properly distributed in accordance with the law.
Leave A Comment