Summer palace of Tripura's last ruler is govt property, rules

The Tripura High Court has ruled that Neermahal, the summer palace of Tripura's last ruler Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur, is a government property.

Advocate General Arun Kanti Bhowmik said a division bench of the court headed by Chief Justice AK Qureshi rejected the plea of royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma and his mother Bibhu Kumari Devi and clarified that the property belongs to the state government.

Neermahal, the iconic red and white palace on the banks of the famed Rudrasagar Lake in West Tripura, has become a tourist hotspot.

Taking note of its rising popularity among tourists, the Centre has decided to provide money for a facelift of the palace built in 1930. The water palace, a blend of distinct Hindu and Islamic architectural styles, was built by the Martin and Burn Company.

The property was handed over to state government by the then royal scion Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya Debbarma in 1974 for maintenance and use in public interest.

In 2005, his wife Bibhu Kumari Devi and son Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma a filed a petition in a local civil judge court claiming the royal family granted "permissive possession" of the property to government and would like to get it back.

Later in 2015, the court ruled in favour of the royals and ordered the state government to hand over the property to the royal family. However, the government challenged the decision at the High Court.

The advocate general said the court rejected the plea of the royals in an order on Monday and said Neermahal belongs to the state government.

However, Pradyot Kishore said that he would not "compromise" on the issue and move apex court.

"Neer Mahal-I challenge the govt to provide one Legal document to suggest that my father 'gifted' Neer Mahal to them, also I am glad that finally the state government has admitted that no money was ever paid for Neer Mahal to my father or my family," Pradyot wrote in a Facebook post.

"I will challenge the matter in Supreme Court but I must ask one question to all if the erstwhile royal family cannot protect their private property then what hope does a poor person have," he added.