The Delhi High Court on Thursday imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on a man named Kunwar Mahender Dhwaj Prasad Singh, who moved a petition claiming ownership of lands which today form parts of Agra, Meerut, Aligarh and 65 revenue estates of Delhi, Gurgaon and Uttarakhand.A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora held that Singh’s plea was barred by delay and laches as well as the principle of extinguishment, as he had approached the Court more than seven decades after the country's independence.“You say you own the entire area between Yamuna and Ganga. On what basis you’re coming? After 75 years you have woken up...The grievance arose in 1947. Isn’t it too late in the day to contest this? We are in 2024 now. Many years have gone by. Whether you’re the raja or not, we don’t know. You cannot complain today that you’ve been deprived in 1947," the Bench remarked.The Court also observed that Singh's claims are questions of fact, which cannot be decided in writ proceedings."How do we know you’re the owner? We don’t have the paper," the Court said.Singh was earlier saddled with costs of ₹10,000 by a single-judge of the Hgih Court. Today, the Division Bench heard his appeal against the single-judge's order.Singh had moved the court saying that he is the heir of Beswan Avibhajya Rajya, which never merged with the Union of India.He claimed that even today, his family holds the status of a Princely State and that all the territories owned by them were never transferred to the Indian government.Singh sought directions to the government to formally adopt the process of merger with the ‘Sovereign State of Beswa Avibhajay Rajya of Beswan’ and pay him the revenue collected for these lands since the year 1950.Among a host of other reliefs, Singh also sought directions to the Government of India not to conduct Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state assembly or local body elections in his territory till the official merger.While rejecting his case, Justice Subramonium Prasad had said that Singh had only filed certain maps and articles which do not indicate the existence of the Beswan family or shed any light on how he has any right to succeed to the said princely state. The Court had held that the petition was completely misconceived, an abuse of process of law and a complete waste of judicial time.
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