AMEERUNNISSA BEGUM AND ORS V. MAHBOOB BEGUM AND ORS INSC 70; AIR 1953 SC 91; 1953 SCR 404

Ameerunnissa Begum And Others vs Mahboob Begum SUPREME COURT OF INDIA FACTS: I) Nawab Waliuddowla, who was one of the Paigah noblemen of Hyderabad and was at one time, the President of the Executive Council of the State, died at Medina on February 22, 1935, while on a pilgrimage to Hedjaz. Besides extensive jagir properties appertaining to the Paigah which fetched him an annual income of nearly Rs. 1,36,000 he left behind him matrooka or personal estate of considerable value. II) It was not disputed that Ameerunnissa Begum was one of the legaly wedded wives of the Nawab and that she and the five children which the Nawab had by her are entitled to their legitimate shares in the properties left by the deceased, There is also no dispute that the Nawab went through a legal marriage with a lady named Fatima Begum who is still alive. It appears, however, that she left her husband soon after marriage and did not return to him any time thereafter. III) This dispute first arose before the Paigah Trust Committee whose duty it was to distribute the income of the Paigah estate amongst the heirs of the late Nawab. The Committee addressed letters to Ameerunnissa Begum, Fatima Begum and also to Mahboob Begum enquiring about the wives and children left, by the Nawab. No letter, it seems, was sent to Kadiran Bi. IV) The Paigah Committee proceeded on the footing that the Nawab's marriage with Ameerunnissa Begum was beyond dispute, but as Mahboob Begum did not produce her marriage certificate even after repeated demands by the Committee, she as well as Kadiran Bi were treated as concubines. The Committee recommended that the annual income of the Paigah should be divided in the proportion of 60 to 40 amongst the legitimate and illegitimate relations of the Nawab 60% of the income was to go to Ameerunnissa Begum and her issues and the remaining 40% was to be paid to Mahboob and Kadiran as well as to their children. These recommendations were approved by the Nizam in a Firman dated 9th July, 1936. V) On the 8th February, 1938, Mahboob Begum and her children filed a suit in the Dar-ul-Quaza, which was a court established under the law for deciding rights of succession, marriage, divorce etc. of the Muslims in the Hyderabad State, praying for a declaration that Mahboob Begum was the legally married wife of the Nawab and the children were his legitimate children. VI) Proceedings before the Special Commission commenced on 27th March,1939. the report came up for consideration by the Executive Council the Members of the Council were divided in their opinion. A minority was in favour of accepting the findings of the Commission but the majority view was that further expert opinion should be taken in the matter. Eventually on the advice of the Council the Nizam directed by his Firman dated 27th August, 1945, that the report of the Special Commission should be scrutinised by an Advisory Committee consisting of three persons, namely, two Judges of the High Court and the Legal Adviser of the State. VII) The Advisory Committee submitted their report on 24th November, 1945, and the Committee held differing from the view taken by the Special Commission that neither Mahboob Begum nor Kadiran Begum was the legally wedded wife of Nawab Waliuddowla. Despite this report, the majority of the Executive Council recommended that the findings of the Special Commission should be accepted. The Nizam accepted this recommendation and by his Firman dated 26th June, 1947, directed that the findings of the Special Commission should be implemented at an early date. The police action in Hyderabad commenced soon after that and it was on 25th September, 1948, after the police action had terminated and a Military Governor was placed in charge of the Hyderabad State that a formal communication of the resolution mentioned above was made to the Chief Justice. Soon afterwards on the application of Ameerunnissa Begum made to the Military Governor the execution proceedings before the Chief Justice were stayed by an order dated 16th October, 1948. ISSUSE: Whether the other two wives “ Mahoob Begum and Kadiran Begum” of the late Nawab were they merely in his keeping as. kavases or permanent concubines. DECISION: The court held that the wasiqa was not legally enforceable beyond the Nizam’s life. It was a personal and voluntary arrangement that could not be considered as a legally binding document for continued maintenance. Therefore, the petitioners could not claim maintenance based on this document after the Nizam’s death. The Court concluded that it lacked the legal authority to compel any maintenance payments under the wasiqa. The Court dismissed the appeal basing its decision practically on one ground, namely that the provisions of the Act violated the fundamental rights of the respondents guaranteed under Art. 14 of the Constitution; and in this view it was considered unnecessary to decide the other points raised before the High Court.