Vadodara: Distant cousins of royal scion Samarjitsinh Gaekwad made another unsuccessful attempt to claim ownership on the land of Laxmi Vilas Palace and Navlakhi ground.The court of deputy collector denied claims of Satyashila Vijaysinh Gaekwad and her children, the descendants of Govindrao I, the great grandfather of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, in the royal properties that are currently owned by Samarjitsinh. In the past Satyashila and her children had made legal attempts to claim ownership in the two properties by making temporary entries in the property card and applying for making a permanent entry.The superintendent of city survey rejected their application following which they challenged the order in the court of deputy collector. The claimants had also filed a suit in a civil court here claiming 50% ownership in the royal properties that were divided between Samarjitsinh and his uncle Sangramsinh Gaekwad after a long drawn legal battle. But the civil court too rejected their suit and ordered them to pay an exemplary cost of Rs 80 lakh.Satyshila and her children had appealed that the royal properties were owned by the ancestors of Gaekwad family which also includes them therefore they have right in it. They also appealed to the court to cancel the objection made by Samarjitsinh against the temporary entry in the property card and validate their temporary entry.The claimants’ appeals were challenged by Samarjitsinh on the grounds that Satyashila and her children are not direct heir and the properties that are currently owned by the royal family are private. “They could not submit any evidence that they are direct heir and are relatives of the royal family,” said Samarjitsinh’s advocate Dinesh Shinde.Shinde also said that the properties that Satyashila and her family were claiming ownership were handed over to Maharaja Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad by the newly formed government of India in 1951. “The merger agreement signed between the erstwhile Baroda state and the Indian government clearly mentioned that Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad is the absolute owner of the non-state properties and thus no one else can claim ownership over it,” Shinde added.

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