Hyderabad: Najaf Ali Khan, the grandson of the seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, has moved a city court challenging Prince Mukarram Jah's claim of being the sole owner of five properties, including famous palaces belonging to the last ruler of erstwhile Hyderabad state.

Terming the Prince's claim of being the sole owner of Falaknuma Palace, King Kothi Palace/Nazri Bagh, Chow Mahalla Palace, Purani Haveli in Hyderabad and Harewood Cedars Bungalow at Uddagamandalam (Ooty) in Tamil Nadu as 'totally baseless' and 'erroneous', Najaf Ali Khan filed a case in this regard in City Civil court, seeking partition and separate possession with metes and bounds.

Najaf Ali Khan pointed out in his suit that after Hyderabad State got integrated into India on January 25, 1950, an Instrument of Accession was signed between the Government of India and Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur Nizam VII. According to the terms of this agreement, the listed private and personal properties of the Nizam VII were approved, declared and acknowledged by the Union of India to be private and personal properties of Nizam VII.

The properties entered in the list were still in existence at the time of death of Nizam VII on February 24, 1967. After his death it was supposed to devolve upon his 16 sons and 18 daughters, Najaf Ali Khan argued.

According to Najaf Ali Khan, in 1957, Nizam VII gifted the five properties to Prince Mukkaram Jah through gift deeds. At that time, Mukarram Jah was not present in India.

He claimed that Prince Mukkaram Jah later wrote a document informing Nizam VII that he came to know about the execution of the gift deeds in his favour but expressed his unwillingness to accept them for reasons that he was unsure of his future and considered himself incapable of maintaining the gifted properties with his meagre income.

Prince Mukkaram Jah orally gifted the said properties back to the Nizam VII and he himself signed a memorandum acknowledging the oral gift, said Najaf Ali Khan.

He alleged that Prince Mukkaram Jah, even after knowing that he is not the absolute owner of the above said properties and that he has returned them to the original owner Nizam VII, continued to act like their sole owner.

Through his GPA's and advocates, he has deprived the other family members of their legitimate rights and also misguided common public and government authorities.

Najaf Ali Khan urged the authorities not to register the properties in full or part as the matter is sub judice.

Mohammed Adnan Shaheed, one of the lawyers of Najaf Ali Khan, said the legal heirs of Nizam VII have been deprived of their legitimate share and have been kept in dark by Prince Mukkaram Jah.