A London court on Wednesday dismissed the claim of a man who said that along with him, there are 116 other claimants to Nizam for Rs 332 crore (£ 35 million) housed in a bank in the UK.
In a ruling handed down in the London Courts of Justice on October 2, 2019, Judge Marcus Smith ruled in favor of India and eighth incumbent Nizam of Hyderabad and his brother, who had reached a confidential settlement in decades. legal dispute with Pakistan over funds belonging to the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad at the time of Partition.
However, other descendants of the Nizam, Najaf Ali Khan, on behalf of 116 heirs to the seventh Nizam, attempted to challenge the sentence.
Without an attorney, Nawab Najaf Ali Khan appeared in the Marcus Smith courtroom via video conference and challenged the court ruling that Nizam's grandchildren were declared legitimate heirs after India reached a private settlement with them.
Discussing this agreement, Khan said: "He had no idea what was the logic and method that the estate administrator applied to make the agreement confidential between India and the princes."
Dismissing Najaf Ali Khan's attempt to reopen the case, Judge Marcus Smith concluded: "I have already decided that India and the princes are entitled to money."
Judge Marcus further said: “The fact is that the money has already been paid. There is no basis on which I can reopen an order I make after trial. "
The long drawn legal dispute
The dispute began at the time of partition. In 1948, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Asaf Jah, had sent £ 1 million and a 'ginni' to the London account of the then High Commissioner of Pakistan as a fund for Hyderabad's "custody trust" from India if there were a invasion. At that time, the princely state of Hyderabad was not under Indian rule.
However, a few days later, the Nizam denied that the fund was transferred with its consent and requested the return. But the bank rejected the request since the money was not in his name.
The bank then said that the fund could not be transferred without the Pakistan agreement, which now had the legal title to the fund.
Nizam issued proceedings against the bank in the 1950s.
The case went to the House of Lords, which held that the question of who owned the fund could not be decided because Pakistan had claimed sovereign immunity.
The money has been frozen since then and the fund is now worth £ 35 million at NatWest bank in the UK, as India-supported descendants of Nizam claimed it belonged to them and Pakistan claimed it was rightfully theirs.
In 2013, Pakistan waived its sovereign immunity by issuing a claim by the fund that opened the way for the current case to continue.
"Pakistan's claims of non-justiciability due to the foreign act of state doctrine and non-applicability on grounds of illegality both fail," the High Court's verdict concluded, dismissing Pakistan's claim.
The central question in the case was who was entitled to the fund after the original transfer: Nizam or Pakistan?
The last and seventh grandson of the Nizam, Mukkaram Jah, who now lives in Turkey, persuaded the case to claim the money.
The Indian government and Nizam's family reached an agreement on the matter, and India supported Nizam's claim on the money.
"Nizam VII had beneficial benefits for the Fund and those who claim the rights to Nizam VII - the Princes and India - are entitled to have the sum paid at their command," Judge Smith had declared in favor of India and Princes Mukarram and Muffakham Jah in October 2019.
DESCENDANTS OF NIZAM AGAIN IN THE COURT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
The other descendants of the Nizam, Najaf Ali Khan, on behalf of 116 heirs to the seventh Nizam, attempted to challenge that decision this week by accusing the seventh Nizam estate manager of "breach of confidence".
Khan even told the court that the funds were unduly released to India and the two princes, Prince Mukarram Jah and his younger brother Muffakham Jah, and also alleged "chronic financial difficulties".
"I determined the actual ownership of that money in my opinion in 2019. It is impossible to accept that it may have the right to reopen the process," said Judge Smith, dismissing Najaf Ali Khan's attempt to reopen the case.
However, the judge will continue to hear arguments on Thursday about allegations of wrongdoing by the administrator of the seventh Nizam estate.
From NDTV News
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