In a twist in the property dispute between the relatives of former Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal, a civil court has dismissed the suit filed by his granddaughter, former MP Shruti Choudhary, against her grandmother Vidya Devi, uncle Ranbir Singh Mahendra and four aunts.
Shruti, daughter of Congress leader Kiran Choudhary, had challenged Bansi Lal’s registered will.
Advocate Avinash Sardana said the court of Civil Judge (Junior Division) Ashutosh allowed the counter-claim filed by the late Vidya Devi.
In her suit filed on August 24, 2006, Shruti had alleged that the registered will of Bansi Lal dated July 19, 2005 was false. She presented an unregistered will dated June 6, 2004 claiming it to be the joint will of Bansi Lal and his late son Surender Singh (Shruti’s father).
According to this will, Shruti was the owner of all the property of Bansi Lal and Surender Singh.
However, as per the registered will of Bansi Lal, his wife Vidya Devi was to be the owner of all his property after his death. He had also willed that Vidya Devi or her legal heirs were free to set up a trust and use the property to make a memorial or use the same for purposes of public utility. After the demise of Bansi Lal on March 28, 2006, his wife became the owner of his properties. She formed a trust by the name of Ch Bansi Lal Memorial Trust and included those family members whom she wished to include as trustees.
She donated all the property to the trust instead of giving it to her legal heirs. She became the chairperson of the trust. Shruti had filed a suit to challenge this will.
Vidya Devi had contested Shruti’s civil suit and filed a counter-claim that the trust was in fact in possession of the properties of Bansi Lal, including his ‘kothi’ at Bhiwani and other properties that she had donated to the trust. After Vidya Devi passed away on February 10, 2009, her daughter-in-law Nirmal Kanta succeeded her as the chairperson of the trust.
