Rolls Royce ordered by Nehru now at the centre of marital suit
A 1951 model antique handmade classic Rolls Royce car ordered by first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the erstwhile Maharani of Baroda is at the centre of a matrimonial dispute in the Supreme Court.
The matter landed in the top court after the Gwalior Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court quashed a case lodged by the woman against her husband for alleged dowry demand and cruelty.
Dispute reaches supreme court
The matter landed in the top court after the Gwalior Bench of the MP High Court quashed a case lodged by the woman against her husband for alleged dowry demand and cruelty.
A Bench led by Justice Surya Kant heard the woman’s plea on Wednesday and asked the parties to explore the possibility of a mediated settlement. On a request made by senior advocate Vibha Datta Makhija, representing the wife, the Bench appointed senior advocate R Basant as a mediator and posted the matter for further hearing on December 18.
The woman, a resident of Gwalior, claimed she belonged to a highly reputed family whose ancestor was admiral in the navy of Chhatarpati Shivaji Maharaj and was declared ruler of Konkan region while the husband hailed from a family with an Army background and ran an educational institution in MP.
The woman alleged her estranged husband and his family had continuously harassed her with dowry demands of a Rolls Royce car and a flat in Mumbai, a charge denied by the man.
For that the high court failed to consider that since inception the Respondent No. 1 & 2 had a mala fide intention of demanding the Rolls Royce car which is one of its kind and it is handmade by HJ Mulliner & Co. for Maharani Baroda Chimna Bai Sahib Gaekwad ordered on her behalf by the first PM of India and one flat in Mumbai. “When the demands of the respondents were not met, they started denying the marriage and making false and frivolous allegations against the petitioner and started assassinating her character,” she alleged. A single model till date, the 1951 model antique handmade classic Rolls Royce car is valued to be more than Rs 2.5 crore at present. Challenging the high court order of December 5, 2023, she said in her petition, “It is clear that the respondent No. 1 (husband) and 2 (father of husband) have shown their fascination for the Rolls Royce car belonging to the father of the petitioner (woman) and in that context they expected to receive the said car in gift and with regard to flat at Mumbai and non-fulfillment of this dowry demand was precisely the reason for not taking petitioner to her matrimonial home.”
The husband has lodged a case of cheating and forgery against his estranged wife, her parents and relatives in preparation of marriage certificate, while the woman lodged a case for dowry harassment and cruelty. Her FIR was quashed by the high court terming it as an afterthought.
