Dushyant Singh and father strike deal on family property

The nearly three-decade-long legal battle between Dushyant Singh, son of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, and his father Hemant Singh, the erstwhile ruler of Dholpur

The nearly three-decade-long legal battle between Dushyant Singh, son of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, and his father Hemant Singh, the erstwhile ruler of Dholpur, was laid to rest yesterday following a compromise between the two. The duo had been fighting over property worth crores —spread across Rajasthan and Delhi — since 1978.

The disputed holdings included the City Palace of Dholpur, a palatial home in Delhi’s Panchsheel Marg, a number of vintage cars, agricultural land, a lodge at Shimla and several other properties together worth over Rs 250 crore.

It was the late Vijaya Raje Scindia who first filed a case against her son-in-law Hemant in 1978, claiming that Dushyant, then a minor, had a right to his ancestral property. A compromise was finally reached yesterday, affidavits of which were submitted to and legally approved by the Additional District Judge of Fast Track Court Number 2 in Bharatpur.

Story continues below this ad

Now, Hemant will get to keep all the property in Delhi while Dushyant is the new owner of the Shimla lodge and the properties in Dholpur including the City Palace, Dyodi Palace, Lodhi Palace, Motor Garage, Ramsagar Gardens, some agricultural land, 25 vintage cars and the jewels kept in the shahi khazana of Dholpur Palace. Hemant gets custody of the jewellery kept at the Delhi home.

As the maternal grandmother had demanded partition of property, Hemant, his wife Vasundhara Raje and his mother Malvinder Kaur were named defendants. After Malvinder Kaur’s death, her other son Hanumant and daughter Snehlata were also named as defendants. However, separated from her husband since 1978, Vasundhara Raje in her statement to the court in 2005 had spoken in favour of her son.

The case went on for years with both parties unwilling to compromise. Hemant approached the High Court and the Supreme Court several times in the intervening years, challenging the moves of the lower courts. Dushyant’s move to the US to pursue his studies also delayed proceedings.

Though talks of a compromise have been doing the rounds for the last couple of years, a breakthrough came about only after the intervention of the former King of Bharatpur, Vishvendra Singh. Singh, also a BJP MP like Dushyant, is related to both.

Story continues below this ad

While Dushyant left for Tirupati today, Hemant’s lawyer Dharam Gopal Chaturvedi could not be contacted despite repeated efforts.

WHO GETS WHAT

HEMANT SINGH: A palatial home at Delhi’s Panchsheel Park and all the jewellery kept within

DUSHYANT SINGH: A lodge in Shimla, City Palace, Dyodi Palace, Lodhi Palace, Motor Garage and Ramsagar Gardens in Dholpur, some agricultural land, 25 vintage cars and the jewels kept in the shahi khazana of Dholpur Palace