Nizam of Hyderabad case: In a major loss of face for Pakistan, the UK High Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of India in a seven decades-old dispute over 35 million pounds belonging to the Nizam of Hyderabad at the time of partition in 1947. The court dismissed Pakistan’s arguments, in the process upholding India’s claims to the fund.
Ironically, fresh proceedings in the case were commenced at Pakistan’s behest in 2013, thus waiving state immunity that it had invoked during earlier proceedings in the case and opened the doors for the current case to proceed. The fund was a subject of earlier proceedings in 1950s in which the UK House of Lords set aside proceedings. The proceedings were brought by the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad claiming the fund as Pakistan invoked state immunity. Pakistan had even made a subsequent attempt to discontinue the proceedings, but the same was rejected as an abuse of process by the UK court.
The case dates back to the time of partition to create Pakistan. The focal point of the case was 1,007,940 pounds and nine shillings. It was transferred in September 1948 by the then Nizam of Hyderabad Osman Ali Khan to the high commissioner in Britain of the newly-formed state of Pakistan. Since then, the amount has grown into 35 million pounds.
Osman Ali Khan’s descendants — Prince Mukarram Jah, the titular eighth Nizam of Hyderabad and his younger brother Muffakham Jah had joined hands with the Government of India to claim that the fund belongs to them.
The court, after analysing documents going back more than 70 years, said that the fund belongs to Osman Ali Khan’s family. The fund is presently lying with the National Westminster Bank in London.
“Nizam VII was beneficially entitled to the Fund and those claiming in right of Nizam VII – the Princes and India – are entitled to have the sum paid out to their order,” Justice Marcus Smith at the Royal Courts of Justice in London pronounced the order.
“Pakistan’s contentions of non-justiciability by reason of the foreign act of state doctrine and non-enforceability on grounds of illegality both fail,” rhe verdict added.
In its arguments, Pakistan said that the fund was transferred in order to keep them out of India’s hand. It also submitted that the fund was transferred to compensate Islamabad for assistance provided in shipments of weapons.
Reacting to the verdict, Pakistan Foreign Office said that the ruling had failed to take into account the historical context of the transfer when ‘India illegally annexed Hyderabad…’.
