HYDERABAD: In a fresh twist in the Hyderabad Fund case, some legal heirs of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, have refused to depose before an expert committee to distribute a small portion of the fund. The committee was proposed by Mukarram Jah, the titular nizam of Hyderabad and one of the beneficiaries of the fund.
The legal heirs argue that presenting themselves before a panel to lay claim on a minuscule portion of the fund is insulting. They are supposed to prove before the panel that they are the descendants of Mir Osman Ali Khan.
Hyderabad Fund or Nizam’s money case relates to 35 million pounds (Rs 346 crore at current exchange rate) locked up in a London bank for over seven decades. The fund (originally 1 million pounds) was transferred by Nizam’s then finance minister to the account of the Pakistan high commissioner in the UK in September 1948. It grew to 35 million pounds over the years. Last year, the London High Court ruled that the money belonged to India, Nizam’s grandsons Mukarram Jah and Muffakham Jah, and the administrator to the estate of the Nizam VII.
Mukarram Jah had announced that he was parting with four lakh pounds (Rs 3.96 crore crore at current exchange rates) to the administrator for distribution among other legal heirs. An expert panel was proposed for distributing the money among about 120 descendants.
Nizam’s another grandson Najaf Ali Khan, who represents 116 legal heirs, told TOI that Mukarram Jah is not the successor to the Nizam VII and, hence, does not have the right to allocate a part of the fund for them.
“Mukarram Jah, who is projecting an image of being just and trying to show a generous nature, has crushed our rightful share in the 35 million pounds by giving away only 400,000 pounds. It’s like he has eaten away our share first and then given us pennies to show false generosity,” Najaf Ali Khan said.
He said: “We have written a letter to the judge (UK court) regarding the assigned amount, stating that Mukarram Jah is not Nizam VIII or successor to Nizam VII in any capacity. Hence, we are not entitled to any such amount assigned by him and therefore cannot accept it. Regarding our entitlement in the Nizam VII estate as per Islamic principles, which the administrator has failed to keep for the beneficiaries of the Nizam VII, the distribution would have been as per the Mahomedan law.”
He said his legal team, comprising senior counsel RB Singhal, Nilofer Khan and Anjum Parvez, were looking at all angles to file cases.
Najaf Ali also said Mukarram Jah was aware who the legal descendants were. “On several occasions in Nizam Trust matters, Mukarram Jah represented the family. One such example is that he represented the beneficiaries of Nizam VII as being a part of the family in Nizam Jewellery Trust case against the Union of India in Supreme Court in 1970s,” he said, adding there was no need for the heirs to appear before the panel to prove their lineage.