look news india
New Delhi, 13 December (HS). The Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the widow of the grandson of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II claiming to be her husband and seeking possession of the Red Fort. A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru ordered to dismiss the petition filed against the order of the single bench.
The Division Bench said that the petition has been filed almost two and a half years after the order of the Single Bench and such delay cannot be condoned. Sultana Begum had challenged the single judge’s order dated December 20, 2021, the single judge had rejected Sultana Begum’s petition. The single bench had dismissed Sultana Begum’s petition only on the basis of delay in filing it without considering the merits. The single bench had said that when Sultana’s ancestors did not do anything regarding the claim on the Red Fort, what can the court do now? It’s too late now.
Sultana said that in 1857 the East India Company had forcibly taken possession of the Red Fort. Advocate Vivek More, on behalf of the petitioner, had said that Sultana Begum is the legitimate owner of the Red Fort. He had said that Sultana Begum is the successor of Bahadur Shah Zafar. It was said in the petition that the Red Fort has been illegally occupied by the government.
