SC orders status quo

FARIDKOT::THE Supreme Court on Thursday ordered status quo on the ₹20,000-crore worth properties of the last ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Faridkot, Maharaja Harinder Singh Brar, which means the trust will continue as caretaker till further orders.

The double bench of justice Uday Umesh Lalit and justice Vineet Saran issued notices to the respondents, including Brar’s younger daughter Amrit Kaur, and the next hearing is scheduled on October 6. The court order came on a plea by the Maharawal Khewaji Trust that challenged the recent order of the Punjab and Haryana high court declaring his will in favour of the trust forged.

Trust chief executive officer Jagir Singh Sran said, “We will continue to take care of all royal properties as per the Maharaja’s will, which is real and correct. The order comes as a relief as the Maharaja’s daughter Amrit Kaur’s men were trying to take possession of the royal properties illegally. Now this matter is in the court’s knowledge.”

On June 1, the high court had upheld a Chandigarh court’s order, awarding majority share in the ₹20,000-crore property of Brar to his daughters Amrit Kaur, who challenged the will in 1992, and Deepinder Kaur.

The court held that descendants of Manjit Inder Singh, the last ruler’s brother, would get their mother Mohinder Kaur’s share. On the will in dispute, the court observed that trustees conspired to create the will to take over the property. “The will is proved to be forged, fictitious, fabricated and shrouded with suspicious circumstances,” the court order said.