'Why not Fatehpur Sikri also?': SC trashes woman's claim to Red Fort, calls plea 'misconceived and meritless'

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by a woman who sought possession of Delhi’s Red Fort, claiming she was the legal heir of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar.

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The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by Sultana Begum, a woman claiming to be a descendant of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. She had asked for possession of Delhi’s historic Red Fort and compensation from the Indian government for what she called its "illegal occupation" of her ancestral property.

A Bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar heard the matter and firmly rejected her claim. The Court said the plea was “completely misconceived and meritless.”

“Why only Red Fort? Why not Fatehpur Sikri? Why leave them also? Writ is completely misconceived. Dismissed,” the judges remarked sharply during the hearing.

Begum had argued that her family lost control of the Red Fort in 1857, when the British East India Company exiled Bahadur Shah Zafar and took over the fort following the First War of Independence. She said the fort was taken away from her ancestors and is now being occupied unlawfully by the Indian government.

She also sought compensation for this alleged illegal occupation.

Begum’s plea was earlier dismissed by a single-judge Bench of the Delhi High Court in December 2021. The judge noted that the claim was filed after an "inordinate delay" of over 164 years, making it legally unsustainable.

“Even if Bahadur Shah Zafar was wrongfully removed from the property by the East India Company, how can a court entertain a case after more than 160 years? The petitioner’s family was always aware of this,” the court had said.

She later filed an appeal, which was rejected again by a Division Bench of the High Court in December 2024. The appeal had been filed after a delay of over 900 days and was dismissed on the grounds of limitation.

Before the Supreme Court, Begum’s lawyer asked the court to dismiss the case only on grounds of delay, as the High Court had done. However, the apex court refused and dismissed the plea on merit, clearly stating it had no legal basis.

With this decision, the long-standing legal attempt by Sultana Begum to reclaim the Red Fort has come to a formal end.