FARIDKOT The district court here has stayed the arrest of Maharawal Khewaji Trust’s legal advisor Navjot Singh Wahniwal till October 28 in a criminal case of the alleged forging of the will of erstwhile ruler of Faridkot, Harinder Singh Brar.
In August 2020, after the Punjab and Haryana high court ruled that the will of Brar, was forged in favour of the Maharwal Khewaji Trust on June 1, 1982, a case was registered against 23 of its members and employees.
The case of fraud was registered on the complaint of Brar’s younger daughter Amrit Kaur against the 23 trust members, including chairman Jai Chand Mehtab, who is also the son of her elder sister, Deepinder Kaur. The erstwhile ruler’s granddaughter and Mehtab’s sister, Nisha D Kher, who is vice-chairperson of the trust, was also named in the FIR. Wahniwal was also among the 23 against whom case was registered.
However, in 2021 police approached the court and sought cancellation of the FIR, which was challenged by Amrit Kaur. Last week the district court has refused to accept the cancellation report and directed police to make further investigation into the case. Fearing arrest, Wahniwal had moved an anticipatory bail application in the court. Wahniwal’s counsel KS Sekhon argued that he was not born on the alleged day of execution of the Will in question and when the Will was challenged, he was mere seven years old. “It is further contended that the applicant was engaged as an advocate by the trust in May 2010 and he represented the Trust. Otherwise, the applicant was not a beneficiary under the Will in question,” he argued.
The court of additional sessions judge Rajiv Kalra said the arrest of the applicant is stayed till the next date of hearing on October 28 without making any comments touching the merits of the case and the applicant is directed to join the investigation. The court issued notice to the state government for October 28 and directed them to produce the police record on that day.
{{/usCountry}}The court of additional sessions judge Rajiv Kalra said the arrest of the applicant is stayed till the next date of hearing on October 28 without making any comments touching the merits of the case and the applicant is directed to join the investigation. The court issued notice to the state government for October 28 and directed them to produce the police record on that day.
{{/usCountry}}In August, putting an end to the 30-year-long fight for inheriting the royal riches of Faridkot’s last ruler, the Supreme Court upheld the HC’s order awarding the majority share in the ₹20,000-crore property to his daughters –Amrit Kaur and Deepinder Kaur – and dissolved the Maharawal Khewaji Trust, which had been looking after the properties.