Delhi High Court rejects plea by Maharaja's heirs for rent arrears on Bikaner House

The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected a petition filed by the heirs of Maharaja Dr. Karni Singh - the last Maharaja of Bikaner - claiming arrears of rent from the Central government for Bikaner House in Delhi [Estate of Maharaja Dr Karni Singhji of Bikaner Through Executrix vs. Union of India and Anr]. .The heirs sought the payment of rental arrears between the years 1991 and 2014. The government had allegedly stopped paying rent due under a 1951 agreement before it vacated the building in 2014. Justice Sachin Datta rejected the plea, saying the heirs failed to establish any legal right over the property and the claims were based on an ex-gratia arrangement which is not enforceable as a legal right. "The petitioner has failed to establish any legal right over the concerned property, nor has it demonstrated any legal right in respect of any alleged “arrears of rent” from respondent no.1.," the Court said while rejecting the plea..The Court observed that the Centre had paid ex gratia rent to Late Maharaja while he was alive but his heirs cannot claim payment as a right."It is well-established in law that ex gratia payments are discretionary and are not enforceable as a matter of legal right. Such payments are made voluntarily by the paying party and cannot be claimed as an entitlement," the Court stated. Advocate Sriharsha Peechara, representing the estate of the late Maharaja, had submitted that according to an ex gratia arrangement from 1951, the Centre had taken possession of Bikaner House on rent. He argued that from 1951 till 1991, one-third of the rent amount was paid to the Maharaja and two-thirds was paid to the Rajasthan Government. The Court was further told that the Centre paid this rent till September 1991, but stopped making the payments after being informed of Maharaja’s demise.Thereafter, the Centre kept the rent payment on hold under the pretext of an alleged property dispute among the Maharaja’s legal heirs and a request for a no-objection certificate (NOC) of no dues payable from the Rajasthan government.The Centre had claimed that it would pay the arrears after adjusting any dues, Peechara submitted.He also relied on several official letters from the Centre acknowledging the rental arrears.“They [Centre] never disputed my rights. it was never said that payment would be stopped after Maharaja’s demise,” he argued..The Central government opposed the petition stating that Maharaja was not the Bikaner House owner when the Centre occupied the building, and that the 1951 arrangement was only an ex gratia one.“It (ex gratia amounts) would be a small amount of ₹6 lakh,” the Centre's counsel added. .The Maharaja of Bikaner passed away in 1988 leaving four legal heirs.The Bikaner House was built in 1922 under the reign of Maharaja Ganga Singh. After independence, while princely States were being integrated with independent India, the Central government took possession of the Bikaner House. In December 2014, the Supreme Court gave possession of the property to the Rajasthan government. The Nagar Palika of Nokha, Rajasthan presently owns the Bikaner House. More recently, in September 2024, a trial court in Delhi ordered the attachment of Bikaner House after the Nagar Palika failed to comply with an arbitral award. A month later, the Court put its order on hold on the condition that the local authority deposit its arbitral dues within a week. .Dismissing the petition, the Court observed that the heirs have no legal basis to claim continued ex-gratia rent payment after the Maharaja's demise."In the above circumstances, this Court is unable to find any legal basis in support of the petitioner’s assertion/s regarding entitlement to continued ex-gratia payment/s even after the demise of Dr. Karni Singh," the Court stated. .Advocates Sriharsha Peechara, Akshat Kulshreshtha and D.S. Bhanu appeared for the heirs. Central Government Standing Counsel Rakesh Kumar with Advocate Sunil appeared for the Centre.[Read Judgment]