At the heart of the family feud is the late Rajmata Gayatri Devi’s sprawling property worth Rs 1,000 crore, including Lily Pool, her residence, and shares in Jai Mahal Palace Hotel that once belonged to their father, the late Jagat Singh. Gayatri Devi’s grandchildren Devraj Singh, 29, and his sister Lalitya Kumari, 32, the heirs apparent to her and their father’s properties, are running pillar-to-post, from one court to another, carrying the copy of the Will of Testament left behind by their grandmother before she died.
According to it, Gayatri Devi had willed Rajmata properties and the family jewels to her estranged grandchildren, Devraj and Lalitya. The Rajmata left the last Will of Testament with Maharaja Bhawani Singh, her husband Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II’s eldest progeny, the son from his first marriage. Man Singh - the last ruler of the princely state of Jaipur before they were abolished in independent India - married thrice, and Gayatri Devi was his third wife.
Bhawani Singh in turn handed the will over to the grandchildren a few days after the Rajmata died. Gayatri Devi’s two step-sons Prithviraj Singh and Jai Singh, the sons of Man Singh’s second wife, have however challenged the Will of Testament, claiming that she had mentioned in no uncertain words that none of her or her dead son’s property would go to the grandchildren, who have always lived with their Thai mother in Bangkok. In fact in 2006, Gayatri Devi’s estranged daughter-in-law, Thai princess Rajawongse Priyanandana Rangsit – a member of the Thai Parliament whose marriage to the Rajmata’s son, Jagat Singh, ended in just about seven years – had dragged her to court claiming a share for her two children, Devraj and Lalitya.
The dispute over the Will has only got bitter. The step-uncles challenged it when it was submitted in court for probate by Devraj and Lalitya. They have alleged that the Will was a forged document. Their application states that the Rajmata had not signed any Will during her lifetime and the dates given on it were those when she was critically ill. The Will had Maharaja Bhawani Singh and Ayub Khan, a loyal employee of Rajmata, as witnesses.
The schisms in the family have been obvious right from the beginning. Just a week after she died, on 29 July 2009, even as the family was in mourning, the entrance to the Lily Pool mansion’s swimming pool was closed overnight and the fencing around it removed, allegedly by the uncles. Though the Rajmata’s wealth has not been assessed as yet, she was said to be worth at least Rs 1,000 crores. Incidentally, the grandchildren do not have the support of any other members of the Jaipur royal family besides Bhawani Singh.
The scene at the Jai Mahal Palace, under dispute within the family, is peaceful. Emerald lawns and a stunning swimming pool stretch around it. However, within Man Singh’s stately homes and in the corridors of Jaipur’s several palaces, the conversation revolves around the grandchildren and how much right do they have over the family silver.
Fighting the case for Devraj and Lalitya is Delhi-based advocate DK Malhotra who told Yuva that the Will the Rajmata had left with Bhawani Singh has no mention of the movable and immovable properties that her grandkids could inherit. Right now, from among the numerous family properties, they only hold shares in the Rambagh Palace Hotel, which the Rajmata had transferred in their name while she was still alive.
For their share in the rest of her property, the grandchildren will have to approach their step-uncle Prithviraj, who holds her power of attorney. Unfortunately for the beleaguered grandchildren, besides the case challenging the Will, they are also embroiled in litigation with Prithviraj Singh in the Company Law Board (CLB). They have alleged that after the death of their father Jagat Singh, Prithviraj had reduced his share in Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Ltd-run Jai Mahal Palace from 99 per cent to just 7.4 per cent. This property was once held exclusively by their father, Jagat Singh and rightfully belongs to them.
The story goes somewhat like this: After Jagat Singh’s death, when things between the Rajmata and her two grandchildren were on the mend, the minor children entrusted their affairs to Prithviraj, who is the manager of the dowager's financial affairs, of Jagat's assets, and director of family companies. Eventually, however, Priyanandana and her children grew suspicious over extended delays in obtaining a succession certificate and transfer of assets, and problems in gaining information about their assets from their 'Uncle Pat'.
So they began to dig through the Registrar of Companies last year, focusing on one of Jagat's prominent assets, the Jai Mahal Palace, a 260-year-old, 100-room pile in the Rajput-Mughal style, spread over 18 acres in the heart of Jaipur, and leased to the Taj Group to run a hotel. Jagat Singh, who had been gifted the palace by his father, held 99 per cent shares in Jai Mahal Palace Pvt Ltd that owned the hotel, and Prithviraj and his son, Vijit, 1 per cent. When Priyanandana learnt that Jagat Singh's shareholding had been diluted to 7 per cent by the "illegal allotment" of 65,000 additional shares, and Prithviraj and family now owned 93 per cent of the company, she had Devraj call his grandmother to protest. The Rajmata said that their Uncle Pat would call back but he never did, forcing them to file the case.
Devraj Singh says that besides depriving them of their share in the Jai Mahal Palace, their uncles have also reduced their shares in the Hotel Rambagh Palace from 27 percent to just four percent. “We have lost more than $50 million this way alone,” he points out.
Right now, the two live in Lily pool Palace, the French-style palace where the Rajmata once lived. But both have been served a notice by Rambagh Palace where the mansion is located. The notice states that the property belongs to the hotel and they need to leave immediately. They have no income from other properties and would not get anything from the companies in which Gayatri Devi was director till the issue of the Will is decided by the court. As the grandchildren are in litigation with him, it is difficult to say whether Prithviraj would help them to ascertain what properties have been left behind by the Rajmata, adds Malhotra.
The war of words and the court battles continue in the meantime. Caught in midst of them are two young grandchildren of one of the most beautiful women in the world, who till today is acknowledged for her grace and beauty worldwide. U
THE FAMILY FALLS APART
Once known as one of world’s most beautiful women, the late Gayatri Devi, the Rajmata of Jaipur, had been estranged for several years from her two grandchildren, Devraj Singh and Latiya Kumari.
Just to give a bit of a background, Jagat Singh lived between Jaipur and London. He was also a drug addict and was twice hospitalised for treatment. He met the Thai Princess, Rajawongse Priyanandana Rangsit while working in Harrods and married her in 1978, a marriage that was opposed by the Rajmata since the bride was a Buddhist and belonged to a different culture. Their seven year marriage was stormy and she separated from Jagat
Singh in 1985, taking the custody of her children but no money from Jagat's family.
Relations between the estranged couple were so bitter that the children lost touch with their father. It took Priyanandana seven long years to get a divorce from the Thai courts. After the divorce, she remarried a Thai who works for a multinational company. The Rajmata was said to be bitter about the estrangement. In fact, she allegedly held her daughter-in-law responsible for her son’s young death, claiming “she neglected him and never could understand him”. Both blamed each other for the divorce and the children did not meet Gayatri Devi for a few years.
Devraj and Lalitya did speak to their dad once, in 1996. However, after his death, they began interacting regularly with their grandmother. They often stayed at her palace in Jaipur and her home in London. And once she was convinced that her grand children deserved to be her inheritors, the Rajmata approached the courts and allowed Jagat Singh’s shares in the Rambagh Palace hotel to be transferred to them. She also got them a succession certificate.
The good looking Devraj Singh sips cold ice tea as he speaks to Yuva at Lily pool, the French-style palace which once served as the residence of Rajmata Gayatri Devi and where he now lives with his sister, Lalitya Kumari.
There is a dispute between you and your step-uncles about a Will that your grandmother left. Have you got the Will probated by court?
The Will has been submitted to the court for probate and we have stressed that it was the last Will of Testament signed by the Rajmata, making us the inheritors of all her properties and interest.
But your step-uncles have questioned the Will and have called it fake...
Let them prove it! The court is there to take a decision. They want to deny us our rights so they have moved an application in the court against us.
Did you ever doubt that your grandmother, Rajmata Gayatri Devi will not make you her inheritors?
No. I am surprised that after knowing it well that the Rajmata had willed all her properties in our name, we are still waiting for the original Will that was left with the Maharaja Bhawani Singh, who passed it to us. I must say the Maharaja helped us in getting our rightful shares in the Jaipur royal family properties and we would always be grateful for this. Even now, we obey the Maharaja and Maharani Sahiba Padmini Devi, and are always guided by the royal couple.
For many, particularly your so-called enemies, the content of the Will came as a surprise as they thought she would deprive you of your inheritance.
It is because they believed that our once bitter relationship with the Rajmata, caused by my parents divorce and the post-divorce incidents, would make her leave us out in the cold. But she knew that we children were innocent and suffered because of the misunderstanding. Once she was assured that we have great love and respect for her, she started changing her mind about us. We came to Jaipur whenever she fell ill and often lived with her at the palace.
But three years ago, when your mother knocked the doors of the court demanding inheritance rights for you, the Rajmata was very annoyed. She was also angry that you had questioned the way your father’s share was reduced in the Jai Mahal Palace Hotel in the Company Law Board.
Yes, she was annoyed because we got the patronage of Maharaja Bhawani Singh, who was then not on the best of terms with her. Dadisa (Rajmata) was led to believe that some family members have prompted us to wage a war against her. These were all lies that were spread against us. However, after she met us and lived with us, her doubts were cleared. Her most positive stand came when she told the court that we would be the inheritors of our father’s property. She helped us to receive the succession certificate. The die was cast with this succession certificate.
Getting the inheritance is not as easy as you must have thought. And it would take years to get the justice from the court to reap the benefits.
Long-pending legal battles never seem to end. My grandmother was once very close to her step-sons Prithviraj and Jai Singh. She had no knowledge of business and law, and she just played into their hands. But we believe in god and he will eventually get us the justice.
How long do you think the legal battle would take and what would be your role during these years?
Till date we do not know what have we inherited. A major part of the inherited property is under a legal dispute. Even the Lily Pool Palace, where we are staying and where Gayatri Devi lived, is not Rajmata’s property. We only know about the stakes that we have in joint properties by the way of shares. In her Will Gayatri Devi has clearly requested all other family members to help her grandchildren to get their rights. Things are not smooth now and may take a long time.
