Raja loses his inheritance estimated at Rs 30,000 cr

Lucknow: Raja of Mahamoodabad's inheritance is set to be taken over by the government - royal properties across Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal estimated at 30,000 crore.

"The Honourable President has promulgated this ordinance by means of which this property has once again been declared as an enemy property, which is why this is being taken over," said Mahendra Singh, Additional District Magistrate, Lucknow.

The properties include:

• The Butler Palace in Lucknow
• Almost half of the Hazratganj Market in the city
• And the Metropole Heritage Hotel in Nainital
  

The Raja had inherited the properties from his father. But in 1965, after his father became a citizen of Pakistan, they were declared enemy property.

A long legal battle ensued with the state and in 2005, the Supreme Court restored the inheritance to him.

Now, a Presidential Ordinance has made a change in the Property Act, which says any establishment once declared enemy property cannot be inherited.

And the Raja, after decades of legal battles, has once again been dispossessed.