Brief History:-
That Bettiah Raj Estate situated in District East and West Champaran of State of Bihar was an impartial Estate having vast properties in the States of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The Bettiah Raj was established by one Raja Ugra Sen in the middle of 17th century and known as the Riyasat of Sirkar of Champaran. Raja Ugra Sen was succeeded by Raja Dalip Singh, Raja Gaj Singh and ultimately by Raja Dhruva Singh in the Year 1715. Raja Dhruva Singh died in the Year 1762 without leaving any male issue but left a daughter named Benga Babui who was married to one Raghunath Singh. On death of Raja Dhruva Singh, his daughter’s son Raja Jugal Kishore Singh entered into possession of Estate of Bettiah Raj. He died in the Year 1784 and was succeeded by Maharaja Bir Kishore Singh. Maharaja Bir Kishore Singh died in the Year 1816 and was succeeded by his two sons viz. Maharaja Anand Kishore Singh and Maharaja Naval Kishore Singh. Maharaja Anand Kishore Singh dies issueless in the Year 1838 and Maharaja Naval Kishore Singh died in the Year 1855 and was survived by Maharaja Rajendra Kishore Singh and Maharaja Mahendra Kishore Singh. Maharaja Rajendra Kishore Singh died in the Year 1883 and was survived by one son namely Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh. Maharaja Mahendra Kishore Singh died in the Year 1892 and was survived by one son namely Yuvraj Ramani Singh. Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh died issueless on 26.03.1893 and was survived by his two wives viz. Maharani Shivratan Kunwar and Maharani Janki Kunwar. Maharani Shivratan Kunwar died on 24.03.1896 and Maharani Janki Kunwar was of unsound mind and childless and died in Allahabad on 27.11.1954.
Will deed:-
That Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh and Yuvaraj Ramani Singh were cousin brothers and since Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh did not have any issue and, remained ill for a long time and, therefore, a will was executed on 13.09.1892 by Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh in favour of Yuvraj Ramani Singh and by virtue of the said will he was declared as Yuvraj (Crown Prince) (he being less than 10 Years in the Year 1892). Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh died on 26.03.1893.
That the aforesaid will dated 13.09.1892 was handed over to the Political Agent of Bettiah Estate and after death of Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh the Political Agent wrote a letter to the Lieutenant Governor General of Bengal to declare Yuvraj Ramani Singh as Maharaja of Bettiah Estate. The aforesaid letter was forwarded by the Secretary of Estate for India Council London by the Lieutenant Governor General of Bengal.
Court of Wards Act:-
That after death of Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh on 26.03.1893, the entire Bettiah Raj was left without a proper Maharaja and, therefore, management of the entire Estate was taken over by the Court of Wards, Bihar on 01.04.1897.
That Yuvraj Ramani Singh was married to one Rani Suvachan Kunwar and both had only one daughter namely Raj Kumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar.
That the Governor of Fort William, Bengal addressed a letter dated 14.04.1937 to Yuvraj Ramani Singh, the Crown Prince of Bettiah Raj.
Approval of Will deed:-
That the aforesaid will executed by Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh in favour of Yuvraj Ramani Singh was approved from Majesty King of England and sent back to Lieutenant Governor General of Bengal bearing Government Order No. His Majesty 1741/III 572 dated 25.05.1938.
Coronation Ceremony of Yuvraj Ramani Singh:-
That on 25.05.1938 coronation of Yuvraj Ramani Singh took place upon the throne of Bettiah Estate.
That on 28.05.1938 the Governor of Bengal wrote a letter to Yuvraj Ramani Singh extending his best wishes on his coronation upon the throne of Bettiah.
That on 07.06.1938 a letter was sent to Yuvraj Ramani Singh from India Office, Whitehall.
State grant in his capacity as Crown Prince of Bettiah Raj Estate;-
That subsequently Rai Sahab J.O.N. Shukla, Assistant Political Officer, Dehradun vide letter dated 07.10.1938 remitted an amount of Rs. 1,55,000 in cash towards payment of annual State grant for the Year 1936-1937 in favour of Yuvraj Ramani Singh in his capacity as Crown Prince of Bettiah Raj Estate.
Original Suit No. 428 of 1938;-
That Yuvraj Ramani Singh and his Rani Suvachan Kunwar decided to get themselves declared as successors of late Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh and absolute owner of the properties of Bettiah Raj Estate and for this purpose they jointly filed in the Year 1938 Original Suit No. 428 of 1938, Yuvraj Ramani Singh and others v The Secretary of Estates for India Council of London, England, UK and others, with a Prayer that the Plaintiffs be declared as absolute owner and legal successor of Late Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh.
That in the said Civil Suit Raj Kumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar (mother of the present applicant Udai Singh) being minor daughter of Yuvraj Ramani Singh was impleaded as Plaintiff No.03 vide order dated 06.03.1946 of the learned trial court.
That in the said suit The Management of Court of Wards, Bettiah Estate under Secretary of Government, United Provinces, Revenue Department, Allahabad was impleaded as Defendant No.03 and The Management of Court of Wards, Bettiah Estate under Secretary of Government, Board of Revenue Department, Patna was impleaded as Defendant No.04 and there were in all 11 defendants in the said suit.
Successor of Late Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh;-
That the said Civil Suit was finally decreed on 19.03.1947 by the learned Additional Civil Judge, Allahabad and after hearing counsel for the parties the court held that the will dated 13.09.1892 is fully genuine and the Plaintiffs are declared as successor of Late Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh and absolute owner of Bettiah Raj and successor of all rights, privileges, honours, title and the movable and immovable properties of Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh of Bettiah Raj.
Dismiss the appeal filed by Bhagwati Prasad Singh:-
That Bhagwati Prasad Singh, who was defendant no.11 in Original Suit No. 428 of 1938, Yuvraj Ramani Singh and others v The Secretary of Estates for India Council of London, England, UK and others, filed F.C. Appeal No. 357/1947, Bhagwati Prasad Singh v Yuvraj Ramani Singh and others, against the judgment and order dated 19.03.1947 in the court of the learned District Judge, Allahabad.
That it is relevant to state herein that none of the defendants except defendant no.11 Bhagwati Prasad Singh challenged the judgment and order dated 19.03.1947 in any superior court of law and thus attained finality as against them.
That the learned District Judge, Allahabad was pleased to dismiss the appeal filed by Bhagwati Prasad Singh vide order dated 30.07.1949.
That the order dated 30.07.1949 passed by the learned District Judge, Allahabad was not further challenged by Bhagwati Prasad Singh or any other defendant(s) in any higher court and thus order dated 19.03.1947 attained finality.
Intimation regarding declaration as the successors:-
That Yuvraj Ramani Singh (maternal grand-father of the applicant) gave application to the Court of Wards, Bihar(Patna)/Board of Revenue(Bihar) at Patna in the Year 1950 intimating it about his declaration as the successors to the Bettiah Raj Estate but nothing was done on the said application.
That Yuvraj Ramani Singh died on 14.12.1950 leaving behind his only daughter Raj Kumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar (mother of the present applicant Udai Singh) and she was aged only about 5-6 years on the date of his death. It is relevant to state herein that she had no information about filing of cases by her father and passing of judgments and orders by the Civil Judge and District Judge, Allahabad till Year 1980.
That meanwhile in the Year 1978 the record room of Civil Court, Allahabad caught fire and entire original will and other important papers pertaining to the cases got burned and in this regard a report has been submitted by the learned District Judge, Allahabad on 01.11.1980.
Title Suit No. 5 of 1961:-
That in the Year 1961 Radha Krishna Singh and others filed Title Suit No. 5 of 1961 against the State of Bihar and others in the Court of Civil Judge, Patna claiming themselves to be the direct descendant of Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh.
That until Year 1980, Rajkumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar, mother of the petitioner, did not have any information about her entitlement to the assets of Bettiah Raj Estate as she was the only surviving legal heir and successor to the Bettiah Raj Estate as her mother Rani Suvachan Kunwar had predeceased her father and died in the Year 1948.
That Rajkumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar, mother of the petitioner, was not having any papers related to the case and, therefore, on 23.03.1982 she moved an application through registered post to the Chairman, Board of Revenue, Patna with a request to supply to her all the papers related to the case decided by the Court of Civil Judge, Allahabad but no such papers were ever supplied to her.
That some other civil suits were also filed in various courts by different claimants of the Estate of Bettiah Raj against the State of Bihar.
That the said suits were dismissed by the learned trial court but decreed by the Hon’ble High Court, Patna through a consolidated judgment dated 15.12.1982 passed in First Appeal Nos. 85,86 and 87 of 1966 respectively.
That against the consolidated judgment and order dated 15.12.1982 passed by the Hon’ble High Court, Patna in First Appeal No. 85 of 1966, Radha Krishna Singh and others v The State of Bihar and others, 86 of 1966 and 87 of 1966, the State of Bihar filed Civil Appeal Nos. 494-496 of 1975, The State of Bihar v Radha Krishna Singh and others, in the Hon’ble Supreme Court at New Delhi and the said Civil Appeal Nos. 494-496 of 1975, The State of Bihar v Radha Krishna Singh and others, were decided by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on 20.04.1983, reported as State of Bihar v Radha Krishna Singh and others (1983)3 SCC 118.
Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment:-
That the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide it’s judgment and order dated 20.04.1983 was pleased to hold in Clause 9 of Para No. 267 of the said judgment that the Plaintiffs (Radha Krishna Singh and others) have not proved that they are the next and nearest reversioners of Late Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh and the suit of the plaintiffs has to be dismissed (Para 270 and 277)
That the Hon’ble Supreme Court further held in Para No. 276 of it’s judgment that as the properties are under the management of the Court of Wards of the State of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, status quo will be maintained until any of the States is able to prove it’s plea of escheat in a properly constituted action.
Hon’ble Supreme Court dismissed the suit of the Plaintiffs:-
That it is relevant to mention herein that the suit of the Plaintiffs (Radha Krishna Singh and others) was dismissed and whatever observations were made by the Hon’ble Supreme Court that were related to the suit filed by the Plaintiffs (Radha Krishna Singh and others).
The State of Bihar and U.P. deliberately concealed before the Hon’ble Supreme Court:-
That The State of Bihar and U.P. deliberately concealed before the Hon’ble Supreme Court about order dated 19.03.1947 passed by the learned Additional Civil Judge, Allahabad in Original Suit No. 428 of 1938, Yuvraj Ramani Singh and others Vs. The Secretary of Estates for India Council of London, England, UK and others, and order dated 30.07.1949 passed by the learned District Judge, Allahabad in F.C. Appeal No. 357/1947, Bhagwati Prasad Singh Vs. Yuvraj Ramani Singh and others, filed against the judgment and order dated 19.03.1947 in the court of the learned District Judge, Allahabad.
The State of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has not proved plea of escheat:-
That the State of Bihar or Uttar Pradesh has not till date proved it’s plea of escheat in any court of law.
Original Suit No. 561 of 2001:-
That on 31.05.2001 the State of U.P. filed Original Suit No. 561 of 2001, The State of U.P. v Bhagwati Saran Singh and others, in the court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) Gorakhpur for passing a decree of declaration in favour of the State of U.P. declaring that the Plaintiff State of U.P.) is the owner of the properties of Bettiah Raj mentioned in Schedule A and B of the Plaint.
That the said Original Suit No. 561 of 2001, The State of U.P. v Bhagwati Saran Singh and others, has been dismissed in default on 31.10.2023 and not restored till date.
That Rajkumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar, mother of the petitioner, was not having any papers related to the cases decided by Civil Judge and District Judge, Allahabad but despite that she kept on giving applications on various dates to the Board of Revenue, Patna and Lucknow for preservation of the properties related to Bettiah Estate.
Claim to the assets of Bettiah Raj:-
That with due passage of time anyhow Rajkumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar, mother of the petitioner, collected some papers related to the case and on 01.10.2003 filed an application in the Board of Revenue at Lucknow stating claim to the assets of Bettiah Raj.
Hon’ble Allahabad High Court direction:-
That the said case is still pending and the Hon’ble Allahabad High Court has vide it’s order dated 26.09.2014 passed in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 52820 of 2014, Udai Singh and another v Chairman, Board of Revenue, Lucknow and order dated 15.10.2024 passed in Writ(B) No. 3697 of 2024, Udai Singh v Chairman, Board of Revenue and 3 others, directed the Board of Revenue to decide the said application expeditiously but nothing has been done on the said applications till date and are still pending.
That Raj Kumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar (mother of the petitioner Udai Singh) died on 13.11.2012 and on 20.04.2018 the petitioner moved an Application/Petition No. 11 of 2018, Kunwar Udai Singh and others v Bettiah Estate, u/S 13 of Bengal Court of Wards Act, to makeover/release the properties of Bettiah Estate to them.
That the Respondent No.01 and 02 are in collusion with each other and arbitrarily wants to usurp the properties of the Bettiah Raj Estate.
That the Board of Revenue, Bihar at Patna has arbitrarily rejected the application moved by the petitioner on 26.09.2018 but no such information about order dated 26.09.2018 was ever given to the petitioner or his counsel Shri Tarun Singla.
Survey/verification of the Properties belonging to Bettiah Raj Estate:-
That since Year 2019-20 the Manager, Bettiah Raj, Bettiah is getting done survey/verification of the Properties belonging to Bettiah Raj Estate and for this purpose on 08.09.2021 the Manager, Bettiah Raj, Bettiah has written a letter to the Secretary, Board of Revenue at Patna intimating him that survey/verification of the Properties belonging to Bettiah Raj Estate has been done and in this regard a survey report has been prepared by V R Gupta and Associates, Chartered Accountants.
Original Suit No. 206 of 1969:-
That it is relevant to mention here that an Original Suit No. 206 of 1969, Rajkumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar v Shri Beni Prasad Tandon, was filed in the court of the learned Civil Judge, Allahabad for passing a decree of permanent prohibitory injunction restraining him from selling the jewellery of her father and return the entire jewellery of her father to her. The said suit was decreed on 15.10.1973 and the defendant was restrained from selling the jewellery of father of Rajkumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar and the defendant was also directed to return the jewellery of Plaintiff’s father to the Plaintiff.
Enactment of Bettiah Raj Properties Act, 2024;-
That enactment of The Vesting of Bettiah Raj Properties Act, 2024 (Bihar Act 23, 2024) is in clear teeth and contempt of the judgment dated 20.04.1983 passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in The State of Bihar v Radha Krishna Singh and others.
That it were the maternal grand-father of the applicant Late Yuvraj Ramani Singh, Rani Suvachan Kunwar and Raj Kumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar (mother of the present applicant Udai Singh) who were declared as successor of Late Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh and absolute owner of Bettiah Raj and successor of all rights, privileges, honours, title and the movable and immovable properties of Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh of Bettiah Raj and the State of Bihar is well aware of all this but despite this it wants to usurp entire properties of the Bettiah Raj Estate.
That Late Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh has not died inte-estate and after death of maternal grand-father of the applicant Late Yuvraj Ramani Singh, Rani Suvachan Kunwar and Raj Kumari Beena Singh @ Purnima Kunwar (mother of the present applicant) it is the applicant Udai Singh and his brothers namely Vijay Singh and Ajay Singh who are the present legal heir and successor of Late Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh and absolute owner of Bettiah Raj and successor of all rights, privileges, honours, title and the movable and immovable properties of Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh of Bettiah Raj.
That thus entire movable and immovable properties, jewellery, cash etc. of Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh of Bettiah Raj situated in various Districts of Bihar and other States belong to the applicant and the properties of Bettiah Raj cannot vest in the State of Bihar by enactment of The Vesting of Bettiah Raj Properties Act, 2024 (Bihar Act 23, 2024).
The Secretary, Board of Revenue, conduct an enquiry:-
That it is also relevant to mention here that on 09.12.2024 the applicant had sent a complaint to the Hon’ble Governor, Bihar, Chairman, Board of Revenue, Patna, Chief Secretary, Bihar Secretariat, Patna, Speaker, Bihar Legislative Assembly, Patna, Chief Minister, Government of Bihar, Bihar and on the basis of the complaints a letter has been written by Shri Anil Kumar Pandey, Joint Secretary, Government of Bihar to the Secretary, Board of Revenue, Bihar at Patna on 15.01.2025 directing him to conduct an enquiry and take action on the points mentioned in the complaint of the applicant and intimate it to him.
Legal heirs of Bettiah Raj :-
That the the State of Bihar and for this purpose have enacted on 10.12.2024 The Vesting of Bettiah Raj Properties Act, 2024 (Bihar Act 23, 2024) though legal heirs of Bettiah Raj are alive and still available.
That it is well settled law provided under Article 300-A of Constitution of India that the State cannot deprive a person of his property without due course of law.
That the Hon’ble Supreme Court has in it’s order dated 20.04.1983 observed that the State of Bihar should prove it’s plea of escheat but the State of Bihar has not till date proved it’s plea of escheat in any court of law by filing any civil suit and without proving it’s plea of escheat it wants to usurp entire properties of Bettiaj Raj estate.
That the State of U.P. filed Civil Suit in the Year 2001 for proving it’s plea of escheat but failed as the suit got dismissed in default but the State of Bihar has not filed any civil suit in any court of law for proving it’s plea of escheat.
That without proving plea of escheat the properties of Bettiah Raj Estate cannot vest in the State of Bihar simply by enactment of a law.
That enactment of The Vesting of Bettiah Raj Properties Act, 2024 (Bihar Act 23, 2024) by the State of Bihar is a clear cut contempt of status quo order dated 20.04.1983 passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
That enactment of The Vesting of Bettiah Raj Properties Act, 2024(Bihar Act 23, 2024) by the State of Bihar is totally arbitrary and illegal per se and violation of Articles 14 and 21 of Constitution of India.
Objections to the Special Officer;-
That after enactment of The Vesting of Bettiah Raj Properties Act, 2024 (Bihar Act 23, 2024) on 10.12.2024 the claimant has sent objections to the Special Officer, Bettiah Estate, of District Patna, Gopalganj, West Champaran, East Champaran, Chhapra, Muzaffarpur, Motihari, Saran, Siwan, Madhubani, Arariya, Narkatiyaganj, Bettiah and Sitamarhi.