Plea for removal of Nawab Ali’s ‘Prince of Arcot’ title rejected

CHENNAI : A division bench of the Madras High Court has rejected a PIL plea to withdraw the title ‘Prince of Arcot’ given by the then British government to Nawab’s family (now to Mohammed Abdul Ali, the descendant), other attendant privileges, political pension of Rs 1.50 lakh per year and allotment of Amir Mahal in Triplicane and its maintenance by CPWD, even after Independence.

This court cannot interfere in such matters, unless the same reflected arbitrariness or illegality in the decision making process and its execution, the bench of Justices M Sathyanarayanan and N Seshasayee said. The bench was dismissing a PIL petition from social activist S Kumaravelu, on Friday.

“This court finds that the conferment of the title ‘Prince of Arcot’ and maintenance of the residence, namely Amir Mahal, which belongs to the government of India, is maintained by the Central Public Works Department and payment of Political Pension by the British Indian government and continued by the government of India, is not at all prohibited,” the bench said.

In the considered opinion of this Court, the relevant orders of the Central government and the State government do not run contrary to the express provisions of law, the judges added and dismissed the petition on the ground that it is misconceived and lacked merit and substance.