London court dismisses attempt to reopen the Hyderabad Fund case

A London court has dismissed the Nizam of Hyderabad's descendant's attempt to reopen the Hyderabad Fund case.

Najaf Ali Khan on behalf of 116 heirs of the late seventh Nizam, sought to challenge a 2019 judgment in the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday (22).

Dismissing Khan’s attempt to reopen the case, Judge Marcus Smith concluded: "I have already decided that India and the princes are entitled to the monies."

"The fact is the monies have already been paid out. There can be no basis upon which an order I make after trial can be reopened by me."

In a judgment handed down at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on October 2, 2019, Justice Marcus Smith had ruled in favour of India and the titular eighth Nizam of Hyderabad and his brother, who had reached a confidential agreement in a decades-old legal dispute with Pakistan over funds belonging to the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad at the time of Partition.

Without a lawyer, Khan appeared in the court via video conferencing and had challenged the court's judgment.

Though the plea was discouraged, the Judge said that he will hear arguments over allegations of impropriety by the administrator of late seventh Nizam's estate.

The dispute began around the time of Partition. In 1948, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Asaf Jah, had sent £1 million and one 'ginni' to the then Pakistan High Commissioner's London account as a fund for "trust for safekeeping" of Hyderabad from India if there were an invasion.

However, a few days later, the Nizam denied that the fund was transferred with his consent and asked to return it. But the bank denied the request as the money was not in his name.

The bank had then said the fund could not be transferred without the agreement of Pakistan, which now had legal title to the fund.

The Nizam issued proceedings against the bank in the 1950s.

The money has been frozen ever since and the fund is now worth £35 million at the NatWest bank in the UK, as the Nizam's descendants, supported by India, claimed it belonged to them and Pakistan counter-claimed that it was rightfully theirs.

Later, the Nizam created a trust which was to be funded from the interest of his Hyderabad Fund. In 1960s, he appointed trust to his grandsons - the current claimants - and assigned his claim to the fund to the President of India.

In 2013, Pakistan sued the National Westminster Bank, the custodian of the Nizam's fund by arguing that India's claim on the Hyderabad Nizam's fund was timed out. India countered the argument saying it was Pakistan which had blocked proceedings in the case. The UK court concurred with India.

The last and the seventh grandson of the Nizam, Mukkaram Jah, who now lives in Turkey, persuaded the case to claim the money.

The Indian government and the Nizam's family came to an agreement over the matter and India supported the Nizam's claim over the money.

Justice Smith had ruled in favour of India and Princes Mukarram and Muffakham Jah in October 2019.