The Supreme Court of India has rejected a plea by a woman claiming to be the legal heir of the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar-II, seeking possession of the Red Fort in Delhi. The court termed the plea as "misconceived" and "meritless", dismissing the petition against the Delhi High Court order. The petitioner, Sultana Begum, argued that her family was deprived of the Red Fort by the British East India Company after the first war of Independence in 1857. The court, however, dismissed the petition, citing the delay in filing the appeal and the lack of justification for the claim.
The story of middle-aged Sultana Begum is heart-wrenching. Her husband Mirza Bedar Bakht, the great grandson of last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, died in penury.
A woman claiming to be the widow of great grandson of Mughal king Bahadur Shah Zafar-II moved the Delhi high court on Monday seeking that the Red Fort which was illegally taken over by British East India Company be handed over to her on the grounds that she was the legal heir.
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