Former Maharaja Of Bharatpur Vishwendra Singh Takes Wife, Son To Court Over Property Dispute

Jaipur: The former royals of Bharatpur in Rajasthan are engaged in a legal battle. Vishwendra Singh, the former Maharaja of Bharatpur, a successful politician and a one-time minister in the Ashok Gehlot Cabinet, has approached a court in the district asking for maintenance from his wife and son, as he is a senior citizen.

Sixty-two-year-old Vishwendra Singh has filed a petition in the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Court in Bharatpur alleging that his son and wife assaulted him and drove him out of his own house. Vishwendra Singh has asked for a maintenance amount because he is elderly and is a heart patient who has suffered COVID-19 twice and has no place to live.

Ironically, the royals have properties worth crores in Bharatpur itself though the former Maharaja claims that he was driven out of these properties by his wife, Divya Singh and son Anirudh Singh.

Vishwendra Singh said these properties were bequeathed to him by his father, Maharaja Brijendra Singh, through a will. Divya Singh and Anirudh, on the other hand, have called these charges false and have alleged that Vishwendra wants to sell ancestral property to which they have objected.

At the heart of this dispute are properties like ‘Moti Mahal’ in the centre of Bharatpur town, with invaluable antiques and hunting trophies, the ‘Darbar Kothi’ on its grounds, the ‘Kothi Ijlas Khas’ in Bharatpur, the Band Baretha, a property currently under dispute and jewellery, gold and silver valued in crores

In his application, he said: “I have been forced to leave my house (Moti Mahal). I am living a nomad’s life. Sometimes I have to stay in a government house and sometimes in a hotel. I have been confined to one room. When I come to Bharatpur, I am not even allowed to enter the house. It is no longer possible to live with my wife and son at home.”

Mr Singh has demanded Rs 5 lakh per month from both of them.

Vishwendra Singh has accused his wife and son of conspiring to kill him. “Their intention is to end my life. After which they can grab all the property. I was hoping that maybe their behaviour would improve in the future, but it did not happen. My wife and son even locked one of my rooms and forcibly threw me out of the house, so I had to leave the house. I brought whatever clothes I had while leaving the house. I have been living like this since then.”

The former Maharaja of Bharatpur has so far refrained from openly commenting on this dispute in public. Meanwhile, his wife and son held two press conferences in the city. In the last press conference held yesterday, Divya Singh blamed former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot for instigating discord in the family dispute

Ms Singh alleged, “Ashok Gehlot Ne Ghee chidakne ka kaam kiya hai (adding more fuel to the fire). She alleged that the former chief minister was recording their phone conversations and guards stationed to protect the valuables in the ancestral palace were removed at his behest.

A panchayat, held a day before yesterday, gathered in support of the former Maharaja, who has politically represented the area since 1988.

With his royal heritage behind him, Vishwendra has successfully represented Bharatpur three times in the Lok Sabha and three times in the Rajasthan legislative assembly. Sources say community elders who attended the panchayat in his support were reportedly upset with the “humiliation meted out to the Maharaja.”

The former Maharaja’s popularity was primarily due to his easy accessibility to the people of this area.

His wife has been dismissive of the panchayat and has said the family has faith in the court where the matter is being heard.

The Bharatpur Royal family descended from the prestigious lineage of Maharaja Suraj Mal. Bharatpur and Dholpur are the two Jat principalities of eastern Rajasthan. Vasundhara Raje is the former Maharani of Dholpur and Vishwendra the former Maharaja of Bharatpur.