SC issues notice in Jaipur Town Hall dispute, declines stay on Rajasthan HC ruling

Jaipur, June 2 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice in the ongoing legal battle between the Rajasthan government and the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur over the historic Town Hall (also known as Purani Vidhan Sabha).

However, the apex court refused to grant a stay or maintain the status quo on the Rajasthan High Court’s 2025 ruling. The matter relates to the former Gehlot government's 2022 decision to convert the iconic Town Hall into a “World-Class Rajasthan Heritage Museum.”

The royal family, led by Rajmata Padmini Devi, has objected, claiming that the move violates the terms of a 1949 agreement between the Government of India and Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II.

A bench comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Augustine George Masih observed that the case raised “important legal questions” that warrant a detailed hearing.

The court issued notices to all parties but declined to grant interim relief, such as a stay or injunction. Additional Advocate General Shiv Mangal Sharma, representing the Rajasthan government, requested that the matter be heard only after the state files its formal reply. He assured the court that no further action would be taken concerning the Town Hall during the pendency of the proceedings.

Based on this assurance, the court declined to issue any restraining order at this stage. The government further argued that the dispute pertains to a pre-Constitutional agreement of 1949, falling under Article 363 of the Constitution, which bars courts from adjudicating disputes arising from treaties or agreements with princely rulers.

Representing the petitioners, senior advocate Harish Salve contended that the 1949 agreement clearly stated that properties like the Town Hall were handed over only for official government use. With the legislative assembly having shifted to a new location, any attempt to use the building for a museum or commercial purposes violates that agreement.

Salve also emphasised that Article 363 should not be interpreted in a way that denies fundamental or constitutional rights, particularly post the 26th Constitutional Amendment of 1971, which abolished the privileges and recognition of former rulers and treated them as ordinary citizens.

In 1949, as part of the merger agreement with the Indian Union, several properties, including Jaipur’s Town Hall, were ceded by the Jaipur royal family to the state for government use.

In 2022, the erstwhile royal family objected to the Gehlot government’s decision to convert the Town Hall into a heritage museum, citing a breach of the original agreement. Despite raising objections from 2014 to 2022, no resolution was reached, prompting the royal family to file a civil suit seeking possession, compensation, and an injunction.

The state government moved to dismiss the suit under Article 363, but the trial court refused. The Rajasthan High Court, however, later overturned that decision, stating that civil courts have no jurisdiction in matters involving pre-Constitutional agreements, though it upheld that the intended use under the agreement should remain governmental.

The Supreme Court will now undertake a deeper constitutional examination, including whether Article 363 applies to this case, whether the royal family's property rights have been violated and how the post-1971 status of erstwhile rulers impacts their claims to such properties.

The case is likely to set a precedent for interpreting merger agreements between the Indian government and princely states, especially in the context of modern-day property rights, said locals.

--IANS

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