The High Court in London passed the decision in favor of India’s Nizam of Hyderabad in the case of the right to possession of the untouched fortune deposited in the bank of London since 1948. The court declared it the rightful property of the descendants of the Monarch of Hyderabad who transferred it and not of Pakistan.
On Wednesday, the judge, Mr. Justice Marcus Smith decided the wealth amounting to $43 million should go to the grandsons of the Nizam. In a ruling reported by PA, he concluded the Nizam’s “motivation” was to “keep the fund away from India – to safeguard it.”
Indian royals win $43 million in dispute
The High Court in London has decided that a deposit left untouched in a British bank account since 1948 is the rightful property of the descendants of the monarch who transferred it — and not Pakistan.@cnnbrk pic.twitter.com/bI069Nro6O— Olaudah Equiano® (@RealOlaudah) October 3, 2019
The High Court had referred the case written by the then Finance Minister of Hyderabad to Pakistan High Commission asking the amount to be “kindly kept… in trust” so that the interests of the state could be safeguarded.
Philip Barden, who represented one of Nizam’s heir asserted that “This was an unusual and fascinating case that required the court to delve into the history books and reconstruct events that took place over 70 years ago…,” according to PA. Adding, “In this case, justice delayed has not ultimately been denied.” He also referred to Pakistan’s claim of sovereign immunity in the 1950s as nothing more than a “Pyrrhic victory,”
India’s Ministry of External Affairs hailed the decision of London’s High Court.
The Nizam as a sovereign approached Pakistan for assistance which the Government of Pakistan provided
“Having found that the 7th Nizam was beneficially entitled to the Fund, the Court concluded that those claiming in right of the 7th Nizam i.e. India and the two grandsons of Nizam were now entitled to have the Fund,” said the official statement of India’s Foreign Ministry.
The heirs of Nizam of Hyderabad and the Indian government had reached a secret agreement last year over the division of the wealth if they won the case.
Indian royals win $43 million in dispute https://t.co/s327qFmW7k pic.twitter.com/bFn0KzDnmT
— texaspost (@texsaspost) October 3, 2019
Pakistan’s government says it is exploring other legal options following the ruling. Adding that the court had failed to “take into account the historical context of the transfer when India illegally annexed Hyderabad in violation of International Law and all civilized norms, leading the Nizam of Hyderabad to make desperate efforts to defend his people and the state from Indian invasion.”
“The Nizam as a sovereign approached Pakistan for assistance which the Government of Pakistan provided,” read the statement further.
Background of the Case
The then Nizam of Hyderabad, late Osman Ali Khan, had transferred 1,007,940 pounds and nine shillings to the NatWest Bank. The value of the funds, accruing interests over the last 70 years now worth 35 million pounds.
Read more: Pakistan, India fight over £35 million Hyderabad’s Nizam left
A decades-old dispute reached the climax when the descendants of the Nizam Hyderabad, Prince Mukkaram Jah, the titular eighth Nizam of Hyderabad, and his younger brother Mufakkham Jah joined hands with the Government of India to win the possession of the fund lying in the Natwest Bank. The Nizam’s descendants claim the amount belongs to them and Pakistan counter-claimed that it is rightfully theirs.