Baroda royal row: Deal likely today

23-year-old battle between the late Maharaja Ranjitsinh Gaekwad and his brother Sangramsinh Gaekwad might come to an end.

The deal between the two warring factions of the Gaekwad family,rulers of the erstwhile state of Baroda,to divide the approximately Rs 10,000 crore worth property,is expected to be sealed Wednesday through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) before the Diwani court at Nyay Mandir here. The court will hear both the sides and a final order will be passed before the possession is handed over.

On Tuesday,lawyers from both parties met to finalise the documents that were ratified by mandatory signatories of the family. The 23-year-old battle between the late Maharaja Ranjitsinh Gaekwad and his brother Sangramsinh Gaekwad might come to an end.

The two camps spent the day in meetings,finalising the split of property spread across Gujarat,elsewhere in the country,London and Europe.

Story continues below this ad

Sources said the deal came through only after Sangramsinh agreed to settle for a compromise that did not involve the Laxmi Vilas Palace a major contention between the two parties. Ranjitsinhs family and now Samarjitsinhs family live in a part of this palace.

According to sources,the MoU is restricted to immovable properties. The 16 family trusts,including the Devasthan trust,family jewellery,artefacts,exquisite pieces of furniture,paintings are not part of the negotiations.

Insiders said Sangramsinh would retain the Baroda Rayons in Surat. A palace insider said,Samarjitsinh is not defensive about this compromise. He has been very clear that the Laxmi Vilas Palace stays with the current royal family and if Sangramsinh has any stake in the palace,Baroda Rayon must also be divided equally. This formula was not accepted by Sangramsinh and Pratapsinh and the duo settled for Baroda Rayons,which has a high market value.

Sources said Sangramsinh may take possession of Indumati Mahal Thursday. The deal,as per sources,is that Nazarbag palace in Mandvi,Ashok bungalow and Bakul bungalow at Rajmahal Road,landed property near Makar-pura airforce,plots in Sama and Padakhana Varasiya road will go to Sangramsinh. In return,Sangramsinh has promised to withdraw 16 legal petitions,against Late Ranjitsinh and his family and sister Mrunalinidevi Puar. On Tuesday,Sangramsinhs lawyers moved the small causes court in Vadodara to withdraw certain cases against the family.

Donald Trump may replace H-1B lottery with wage-based selection process

World9 hr ago

Days after hiking the fees for new H-1B applications to $100,000, the Donald Trump administration has proposed to overhaul the visa process for high-skilled non-immigrant workers. The Trump administration has suggested a wage-based selection process for the H-1B programme, instead of the current lottery system.

View all shorts

Live Blog