As twists of fate go, this is the mother of them all. The heir to a raja loses his assets as 'enemy property'. He fights for decades to win them back. And, finally succeeds in face of utter disbelief.
In a court judgment dealing with one of the biggest property disputes in recent times, he gets back his assets — all 4,000-odd acres of them.
What's more, their estimated worth has now grown to a jaw-dropping Rs 5,000 to 6,000 crore! (i.e. more than $1 billion)
That's the amazing story of Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, the son of the erstwhile Shia Raja of Mehmoodabad — an estate in Sitapur district of UP — who owned properties strewn across Lucknow, Sitapur, Lakhimpur and Nainital, among other places.
The senior raja migrated to Pakistan in 1957 but his wife and son stayed back. In 1965, the family's landed assets were confiscated as 'enemy property' and handed over to a government custodian.
But after his father died in London in 1973, Khan — as the sole heir — moved court to reclaim the properties. Assets of an Indian national could not be termed 'enemy property', he argued.
After winding its way through various courts, in October last year, the Supreme Court gave its verdict — all Mehmoodabad properties were to be handed back to Khan.
Further litigation followed with tenants occupying the properties, many of them influential traders of Lucknow. Finally on Friday, the apex court has held that all post-1965 tenants have to vacate while older ones have the status of valid tenants.
As the legal cloud dissipates, the worth of Khan's properties come into clearer focus. He now owns prime real estate in Hazratganj, one of the most posh markets of Lucknow.
Here the circle rate is Rs 2,000 sq ft and the market rate at least 10 times more. "Khan owns half of Hazratganj, that too the hip up-market locations," said a shopkeeper.
"Who would sell at the circle rate here?" Many of these buildings qualify as architectural beauties whose worth cannot be quantified. Take Lawrie Building in Hazratganj, which covers around 1, 75,000 sq ft.
Going by circle rates alone, it would be worth Rs 35 crore. But that's just the base price; in the actual market it would fetch a lot more.
By the same conservative yardstick, Khan's two other properties — Kankar Wali Kothi and the present Halwasiya market — with a consolidated area of 2, 00,000 sq ft would cost Rs 40 crore.
Mehmoodabad Mansion, located opposite Halwasiya market has four shops with a total area of 10,000 sq ft. These would add up to Rs 2 crore.
The Malka Zamania Building in Golaganj occupies an area of about 30,000 sq ft, which has a lower circle rate, would still fetch a king's ransom.
Butler Palace and the adjoining lake is an architectural wonder and would fetch a mind-boggling amount were it to be sold. As would Khan's properties in Golaganj, Maulviganj and Astabal Charbagh.
Khan also owns a lot of property in Sitapur. He already has possession of the palatial houses occupied by the DM, SSP and CMO. Schools are located on his property and a sugar mill too.
Ever heard of somebody owning a whole tehsil? Well, Khan did in Sitapur. But he handed it back to the government. The 'raja' has shown different facets of his personality, from a benevolent, approachable person to a recluse.
After getting possession of the Butler Palace last year, he had told TOI, "Only in Zen Buddhism can you clap with one hand. The shopkeepers have rights, and so do the others."
And he walked the talk when he gave away schools and some government buildings, as well as agricultural lands to the government and poor people who had nobody to turn to.
He gave more time to residents of Metropole Hotel in Nainital to move out after the DM got it vacated in a record two days.
However, some shopkeepers who have made a fortune over decades using his properties were in for a shock when Khan did not as much as give them an audience.
Some say Khan has his reasons. Others point out that he had filed the case in the first place to show the government and the state that injustice had been done to him.
Whatever the opinion, one thing is indisputable: the 'raja' has won a king's ransom. What he does with it, however, is open to speculation
Air Power rocks
