. The nearly four-decade-old property dispute between India’s famous Scindia royal family is nearing a final settlement. Although the process to give legal recognition to the family agreement reached at the Gwalior District Court to settle the dispute has begun, the hearing has been postponed for some time due to lack of necessary records.

The agreement between Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya Scindia and his three aunts is expected to end a long-running property dispute.TAG_OPEN_p_34 He is currently a minister in the Modi government. He remained in the Indian National Congress till 2020 but later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

This dispute is also directly related to Nepal’s politics. Jyotiraditya Scindia’s aunt Usha Raje Rana is married to senior RPP leader Pashupati Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana. After the settlement of the dispute, the property of Usha Raje is expected to increase the property of Pashupati Shumsher Rana family by around Rs 100 billion. However, the actual share to be received has not been made public.

The Scindia family’s dispute was not just about property, but it was also linked to decades-old political differences.TAG_OPEN_p_32

Late Madhavrao Scindia walked a different path from the political line of his mother, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia. Madhavrao joined the Congress when Rajmata Vijayaraje was active in the ideological stream of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Since then, the political and family distance between the mother and son has been discussed in Indian political circles. It is believed that this difference further complicated the dispute over ancestral property.

TAG_OPEN_p_30 After the death of Madhavrao Scindia, his son Jyotiraditya Scindia laid claim to the ancestral property. Her three aunts — Vasundhara Raje, Yashodhara Raje Scindia and Usha Raje Rana — also approached the court demanding equal rights.

Politically, this family is also considered very influential.TAG_OPEN_p_29 Vasundhara Raje is a former Chief Minister of Rajasthan and Yashodhara Raje is a former minister in the Madhya Pradesh government and a BJP leader.

One of India’s most famous property disputes

The dispute, which began around 1988 TAG_OPEN_p_28-89, is considered to be one of the biggest family property disputes in India.

According to media reports, the disputed properties include the historic Jai Vilas Palace in Gwalior, various palaces of Shivpuri, Gwalior House in Delhi, Kaliadeh Palace in Ujjain, Padma Vilas Palace in Pune, Scindia Ghat in Varanasi, religious properties in Goa and possessions in various companies.TAG_OPEN_p_27

According to sources close to the TAG_OPEN_p_26 family, the most important issue is the ownership of the Jai Vilas Palace. There are reports in the Indian media that Jyotiraditya Scindia wants to keep the palace under his control and has agreed to redistribute other assets in return. However, the exact terms of the agreement have not been made public.

Special relationship with Nepal

TAG_OPEN_p_25 The relationship between the Scindia family and the Rana family of Nepal is old. Usha Raje was married to Pashupati Shumsher Rana. Pashupati Shumsher is a former deputy prime minister of Nepal and a senior leader of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP).

They have two daughters, Devyani Rajya Laxmi Rana and Urvashi Rajya Laxmi Rana.TAG_OPEN_p_24

Devyani Rana was once in the news all over South Asia due to her marriage to the then Crown Prince of Nepal, Dipendra.TAG_OPEN_p_23 She was later married to Aishwarya Singh, a member of the former royal family of India. Urvashi Rajya Laxmi Rana is married to Indian industrialist Shiva Khemka.

Rajmata Bijaya Raje Scindia is the granddaughter of Khadak Shumsher Rana. Madhavrao Scindia was also married to the Rana family in Nepal.

The process of giving legal recognition to the family agreement reached in the Gwalior court is underway. However, the final decision has been put on hold for some time as the entire record has been submitted to the court.

The dispute that has been going on for nearly TAG_OPEN_p_21 40 years will come to an end once the agreement on the division of property becomes legal. With this, the much-talked-about property scandal between India’s influential Scindia royal family and Nepal’s Rana family will enter a new phase.