M A I N   N E W S

India can ‘claim’ sunken treasure
Sanjay Suri

London, May 6
The Indian Government can claim a hoard of jewels lying in a sunken ship in the Mediterranean if descendants of an erstwhile Indian royal family do not claim them, a leading barrister here has said.

A dispute has arisen over the wreckage of the “Britannia,” which was sunk by a German U-boat in 1916. With the ship went down 158 passengers and crew, and a collection of jewellery, coins, diamonds and bullion destined for the Maharaja of Kapurthala, Jagatjit Singh.

“Now that the ship has been found, the question still remains — who the treasure belonged to?” said Mr Bhaskar Ghorpade. “If no claim comes from India, either the finders will keep it or the Crown can take it,” he said.

“The obvious claim to the property will be of the Maharaja’s successors,” said Mr Ghorpade, who won the historic case of the Nataraja, which was bought by a Canadian for $250,000. It was returned to India after he successfully made the statue an appellate before the London High Court.

“It is not too late for the family to make a claim,” he said. “But the claim would have to be made within a year, otherwise finders will become keepers,” he added.

Mr Ghorpade said if no one from the family came forward, the Indian Government could lay claim to the treasure. “Some of the jewellery and coins may be of historical value and that can be a national inheritance the government can claim.”

“There is no dispute that the treasure was the personal property of the Maharaja of Kapurthala and that it was headed for him to take back to India,” Mr Ghorpade said. He said claims by the family or the government could stand even if insurance for loss of the treasure had been paid.

British courts have awarded claims of disputed property by descendants even centuries later. But under new laws on treasures from wrecks, the claim itself will have to be made soon after the find.

The Indian Government should investigate the case immediately, he said. IANS