JAIPUR: The Supreme Court constituted a five-member supervisory committee for the protection and renovation of several heritage sites in the State. The top court also appointed former Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and Rajasthan High Court Pradeep Nandrajog as head of the committee.
The bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Abhay S Oka, and J B Pardiwala passed an order in a civil appeal, the subject matter of which is the estate of erstwhile Maharaja of Khetri, Shri Raja Sardar Singh which also happens to include several heritage properties being perished in protracted litigation and dispute.
The rights over the estate of the Maharaja are the subject matter of different civil suits which are currently pending adjudication before the Delhi High Court.
However, because of the pendency of the civil suit before the HC for over a decade, the issue of maintenance of the heritage properties was brought for consideration before the bench.
The State of Rajasthan had exercised its rights under the Rajasthan Escheats Regulation Act, 1956 predicated on the reasoning that there were no legal representatives who would inherit the estate and had taken over the properties.
The bench in its order stated, “It is shocking the manner in which the state of Rajasthan has permitted its heritage to be destroyed and continues to permit it to be destroyed, while claiming its rights under the Rajasthan Escheats Regulation Act, 1956.”
The bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Abhay S Oka, and J B Pardiwala passed an order in a civil appeal, the subject matter of which is the estate of erstwhile Maharaja of Khetri, Shri Raja Sardar Singh which also happens to include several heritage properties being perished in protracted litigation and dispute.
The rights over the estate of the Maharaja are the subject matter of different civil suits which are currently pending adjudication before the Delhi High Court.
However, because of the pendency of the civil suit before the HC for over a decade, the issue of maintenance of the heritage properties was brought for consideration before the bench.
The State of Rajasthan had exercised its rights under the Rajasthan Escheats Regulation Act, 1956 predicated on the reasoning that there were no legal representatives who would inherit the estate and had taken over the properties.
The bench in its order stated, “It is shocking the manner in which the state of Rajasthan has permitted its heritage to be destroyed and continues to permit it to be destroyed, while claiming its rights under the Rajasthan Escheats Regulation Act, 1956.”
