1951 Rolls Royce ordered by Nehru for Baroda 'maharani' becomes flashpoint in marital dispute

New Delhi: A 1951 model antique hand-made classic Rolls Royce car, a single model till date valuing more than Rs 2.5 crore at present and ordered by first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the erstwhile 'maharani' of Baroda, has become a major bone of contention in a matrimonial dispute in the Supreme Court.

The dispute of the estranged couple has reached the apex 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.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, which on Wednesday heard the plea of the woman through senior advocate Vibha Datta Makhija, asked both the parties to explore the possibility of settlement through mediation.

"If both settle the dispute amicably then there is nothing like that," Justice Kant observed, and asked the parties to give one more try to settle the dispute.

It noted, "Senior counsel/counsel for the parties jointly state that though mediation had earlier failed before different forums, however, it is worth trying under the aegis of the Supreme Court Mediation Centre to give one more opportunity to the parties for amicable resolution of their dispute." Considering Makhija's request, which was agreed to by the other side, the bench appointed senior advocate R Basant as a mediator.

"We, accordingly, appoint R Basant, senior advocate and former judge of the High Court of Kerala to be the mediator. The parties may contact R Basant to fix a date for interaction, as may be convenient to all sides," the bench ordered and posted the matter for further hearing on December 18.

The woman, who is a permanent resident of Gwalior, claimed that she belongs to a highly reputed family whose ancestor was admiral in the navy of Chhatarpati Shivaji Maharaj and was declared ruler of Konkan region.

The husband belongs to a family which has an Army background and runs an educational institution in Madhya Pradesh.

The woman claimed that her estranged husband and his family had continuously harassed her with dowry demands of 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 first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru 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," her plea said.

Assailing 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 her 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.

The woman in her plea said, "The aforesaid dowry demand was exorbitant; the petitioner's family was not in a position to fulfill the same; besides this there is no custom of giving dowry in the family and community of the petitioner. Therefore, the said demand of dowry was not conceded by the parents of the petitioner and the message was clearly conveyed to the respondents' family."

The husband in reply doubted the sanctity of marriage between the two that took place April 20, 2018 at Rishikesh in Uttarakhand and said, "The whole occasion was treated as a 'symbolic marriage' required for astrological reasons as per the petitioner's family guru. Parties have not stayed together for a single day as man and wife."

He, in his reply filed through advocate Anshuman Srivastava, said till date the parties have not cohabited and the purported marriage remains unconsummated.

The husband claimed that the woman "fraudulently" got the purported marriage between the parties registered at Gwalior and denied ever demanding the Rolls Royce car and a flat in Mumbai as dowry.