Now,nephew of erstwhile king says he is rightful successor

The next date of hearing is September 27.

On July 25,the court had made the Maharaja’s daughters legal heirs to the Rs.20,000-crore property.

Kanwar Bharatinder has challenged the July 25 order,because according to him court had decided the issue of inheritance on the basis of the Hindu Succession Act and not on the basis of the Law of Primogeniture,which is customarily followed among the royal families when issues of inheritance arise.

According to the Law of Primogeniture,it is the right of the firstborn son to inherit the family estate.

Speaking at a press conference on August 5,before challenging the July 25 order,Amarinder,son of Kanwar Bharatinder Singh had said,“In the 1952 will of the Maharaja,he had specifically excluded his eldest daughter,Rajkumari Amrit Kaur,from the right over any of his property,while giving some cash and immovable properties to his two younger daughters. The fact that the two daughters were specially mentioned as being given something means that the Maharaja meant to naturally leave everything else to his son Tikka Harmohinder Singh. Tikka,however,died before the Maharaja.”

“The Maharaja had meant to follow the Law of Primogeniture and by that logic the next in line was his younger brother (next living male survivor) Kanwar Manjitinder Singh,my grandfather,” he had said.

He also gave instances of how the law was followed during the time of his great-grandparents.