Naidunia Correspondent, Gwalior | A settlement is set to be reached in Gwalior court on Wednesday in the four-decade-old Scindia royal family's properties worth approximately Rs 40,000 crore. In the high-profile family dispute, the formal process of the mutual settlement regarding the division of assets between Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and his three aunts - former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, ex-Madhya Pradesh minister Yashodhara Raje, and Usha Raje - will be completed in court. Both parties will appear in court via video conferencing.
Following the court's directive, all parties have agreed to resolve the dispute amicably. The settlement application has been submitted to the Gwalior District Court.
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During the previous hearing, the court directed the parties to submit a compromise agreement and resolve the entire dispute within 90 days and submit a compliance report to the court. It was also clarified that if the process is not completed within the stipulated timeframe, the petition could be revived.
History Of The Asset Dispute
The background to this dispute was formed in 1971, when an oral agreement was reached within the Scindia family regarding the division of assets. This arrangement was later legalised through an order of a Mumbai court. A large portion of the assets inherited by Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia were transferred to 15 charitable trusts established by her.
Rajmata Files Civil Lawsuits
In the last decade of the last century, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia filed two separate civil suits in a Pune court. One concerned the ownership of immovable properties, such as palaces, buildings, and land, while the other concerned the rights to jewellery, cash, and other movable assets.
Rajmata's Will Revealed
The controversy deepened after Rajmata's death in 2001. A will presented in a Mumbai court claimed that most of the assets under her control were in the names of her daughters. During this time, various parties approached the court over the validity and interpretation of the will.
The claim is based on the argument that daughters have equal rights in their father's ancestral property. The property dispute began in 1988-89 between Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia's father, Madhavrao Scindia, a former Union minister in the Congress government, and his three sisters. After Madhavrao's death in a plane crash in 2001, the dispute shifted to Jyotiraditya and his three aunts. In 2010, the case received a new hearing in court.
What Is The Argument Of The Raje Sisters?
In this case, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia's daughters - Usha Raje, Vasundhara Raje, and Yashodhara Raje -filed a claim in the district court, arguing that daughters have equal legal rights in their father's ancestral property and should receive their share. Following this, Jyotiraditya Scindia also filed a separate suit asserting his rights.
Both cases remained pending in the district court for a long time. After a legal battle that lasted nearly 16 years, the case eventually reached the High Court in 2017, where it was filed as a civil revision. Now, the path to a peaceful resolution through mutual agreement between the parties is almost clear.
(With Naidunia/Jagran.com inputs)