'Why not Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri too? Why leave them?': SC dismisses Mughal heir's claim on Red Fort with sarcasm

The Indian Supreme Court (SC) dismissed the plea of a woman, who claimed to be a descendant of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, to possess the Red Fort, saying she is the legal "heir" of the property. Calling the plea “misconceived" and “meritless", the apex court rejected it with sarcasm, saying why she spares other monuments built by Mughals like the Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri. 

The plea was filed by Sultana Begum, widow of great-grandson of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar-II and the hearing was done by a bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar. The bench simply refused to entertain the plea. 

Furthermore, the bench sarcastically asked the petitioner, “Why only the Red Fort? Why not Fatehpur Sikri? Why leave them? The writ is completely misconceived." 

The Delhi-based court did not allow the petitioners to withdraw the plea. 

Manwhile, the counsel for the petitioner said the plea was dismmised by the Delhi High court in 2021 on the grounds of the delay and not on merirts. 

“We find the said explanation inadequate, considering that the delay is more than two-and-a-half years. The petition was also dismissed (by a 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."

Sultana Begum, who lives in West Bengal’s Howrah, had filed a petition claiming that the family was deprived of their property by the Britishers after the first War of Independence in 1857

The plea claimed that Begum was the owner of the Red Fort as she is a direct descendant of the original owners.