Shilpi Nama
On 5th May, 2025, the Supreme Court denied a woman’s request for ownership of the historic Red Fort located in the national capital. She cited her status as the widow and legal successor of the great-grandson of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar-II.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, who presided over the Bench, stated, “Why only the Red Fort? Why leave out the Fatehpur Sikri? The writ petition is fundamentally flawed and lacks substance,” thus rejecting Sultana Begum’s appeal for the Government to either transfer the Red Fort to her or offer appropriate compensation.
Although her counsel argued that the petitioner is a descendant of the nation’s first freedom fighter, they opted to withdraw the petition upon realizing that the Supreme Court would not entertain it. The Bench, however, rejected the counsel’s plea to retract the challenge to the ruling made on 13th December, 2024, by a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court, which had previously dismissed her appeal against a decision rendered by a single judge in December 2021.
The High Court had rejected her petition, stating that it was filed over two and a half years late, a delay that could not be excused. Begum claimed her health issues and the death of her daughter hindered her from filing the appeal. However, the Court found this explanation insufficient, noting the significant delay of more than two and a half years. The single judge also rejected the petition due to its excessive delay spanning several decades. The request to excuse the delay was denied, resulting in the appeal’s dismissal on the grounds of limitation, as indicated by the High Court.
The petitioner claimed that her family lost their property to the British after the first war of Independence in 1857, which led to the emperor’s exile and the forcible appropriation of the Red Fort from the Mughals. Furthermore, Begum argued that the Government of India was unlawfully occupying the property. On 20th December, 2021, a single judge dismissed Begum’s petition for possession of the Red Fort, which had been wrongfully taken by the British East India Company, citing insufficient justification for the significant delay in pursuing legal action after more than 150 years.
Case Name: Sultana Begum v. Union of India.
Case Number: SLP(C) No. 12032/2025
Bench: Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna
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