‘We inherited the Red Fort’, who is Sultana Begum, the woman claiming iconic monument to be her own?
The Delhi High Court dismissed an appeal filed by Sultana Begum, the widow of the great-grandson of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II. In her appeal, she claimed to be the legal heir of Bahadur Shah Zafar II and sought possession of the Red Fort in the national capital, Delhi. The matter was heard by a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.
Sultana Begum’s petition challenged the December 2021 decision of a single-judge bench of the High Court. The bench, led by Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, dismissed the petition due to a delay in filing. “We find the said explanation inadequate, considering that the delay is of more than two-and-a-half years. The petition was also dismissed for being inordinately delayed by several decades. The application for condonation of delay is dismissed. Consequently, the appeal is also dismissed. It is barred by limitation,” the HC said.
Sultana Begum, who resides near Howrah in Kolkata, told The Indian Express that she first approached the High Court in 2021. She expressed hope that the government would take notice of her situation and provide financial assistance.
What Does Sultana Begum Say?
Sultana Begum is the widow of Mirza Bedar Bakht, who was born in 1920 in then Rangoon, Burma (present-day Yangon, Myanmar). Mirza Bedar Bakht was the great-grandson of Bahadur Shah Zafar II, the last Mughal Emperor. He passed away in 1980 in Kolkata, India.
Sultana Begum said, “We lived in Talatala and survived on the pension provided as legal heirs of Bahadur Shah Zafar II, which amounted to just a few hundred rupees. In 1984, I moved to Howrah with my children, where I struggled alone to raise them. After my husband’s death, I worked intermittently, running a tea stall and making bangles, but now age has caught up with me. I spend most of my time confined to bed.”
According to Sultana Begum, Mirza Bedar Bakht was the last officially recognized descendant of Bahadur Shah Zafar II, who initially received a pension from the British. Her petition states that after British rule, pensions were provided by the Central Government, the Nizam, and the Hazrat Nizamuddin Trust. Sultana Begum claims that, as the legal heir of Bahadur Shah Zafar II, she now relies on a Rs. 6,000 pension provided by the Hazrat Nizamuddin Trust to make ends meet.
“We Are Living in Poverty”
Living in a small hut in Howrah, Sultana Begum expressed her need for financial assistance. She said, “I have one son and five daughters. My eldest daughter passed away in 2022, which caused the delay in filing the appeal. My children remained uneducated, as none of them could complete their schooling, and we are living in extreme poverty.”
In 2021, Sultana Begum approached the Delhi High Court, alleging that her family had been deprived of possession of the Red Fort. She argued that Bahadur Shah Zafar II—who ruled Delhi from 1836 to 1857—was exiled, and on September 19, 1857, the British illegally seized the Red Fort. She claimed that the Red Fort was her rightful inheritance as the legal heir of Bahadur Shah Zafar II and that she is entitled to compensation from the central government for its alleged unlawful occupation.
About the case
The case originates from Sultana Begum’s 2021 petition, where she asserted that the Red Fort was unlawfully taken by the East India Company following the 1857 First War of Independence. She claimed that her ancestor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II, was exiled, and the property was seized without consent. Sultana argued that the government’s occupation of the Red Fort was illegal and sought either ownership of the property or compensation, including arrears dating back to 1857.
In December 2021, a single-judge bench rejected her plea, noting that there was no reasonable explanation for filing the case over a century after the events occurred. The High Court upheld this ruling, emphasizing that even legitimate historical claims cannot override legal time limits.
This decision brings an end to Sultana Begum’s lengthy legal pursuit to regain possession of the Red Fort or receive compensation, affirming the monument’s status as government-owned property.