SC junks plea of woman seeking Red Fort's possession - ‘why leave out Fatehpur Sikri?' jokes CJI
The Supreme Court today rejected a petition filed by a woman, seeking possession of the Red Fort. The petitioner claimed to be the widow of the great-grandson of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar dismissed Sultana Begum's petition challenging the Delhi High Court's judgment rejecting her plea.
"Why only the Red Fort? Why leave out the Fatehpur Sikri?," CJI Khanna asked the petitioner sarcastically, according to legal news website, LiveLaw.
The bench observed that the writ petition was misconceived, LiveLaw report said. The woman claimed that the possession was taken away from her forcibly, by British East India Company in 1857.
Why only the Red Fort? Why leave out the Fatehpur Sikri?
In 2021, a single judge of the High Court had dismissed her petition on the ground of there being an inordinate delay in approaching the Court.
First Published: 5 May 2025, 12:58 PM IST
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