Hiranvan Kothi. Picture by Raj Patidar

Bhopal, Feb. 11: Hiranvan Kothi has slipped through Maharaja of Gwalior Jyotiraditya Scindia?s fingers.

A Gwalior court yesterday ruled that the kothi, located in the heart of the Gwalior estate, be handed over to Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia?s private secretary Sardar Sambhajirao Angre and his daughter Chitralekha. The Rajmata shared a special relationship with Angre.

Judge S.S. Trivedi said a commissioner?s report revealed that the kothi was well known as Angre?s residence and material obtained from the mansion indicated his ownership.

Jyotiraditya has been given 90 days to file a review petition. He was not available for comment.

The kothi was very dear to the late Madhavrao Scindia, who is Jyotiraditya?s father and the Rajmata?s son. On October 11, 1983, Madhavrao had taken an uncharacteristic step to forcibly ?release? the premises that the Rajmata had given Angre on ?rent?.

Police records said Madhavrao?s men raided the kothi when Angre was away. The house was sealed and taken into court custody.

Last July, Gwalior police had arrested several of Madhavrao?s close associates, including Mahendra Pratap Singh, K.P. Singh, Sharad Shukla, Ashok Sharma and Rajendra Tomar, in connection with the unlawful entry into the kothi. Mahendra Pratap and several former state ministers were booked on a range of charges, including dacoity.

Octogenarian BJP ideologue Angre had a special relationship with the Rajmata. Apart from being her private secretary, he used to look after the palace and handled her financial matters when her husband, Maharaj Jivajirao Scindia, died and Madhavrao was barely 16. He also used to help the Rajmata chart her political career.

In Madhya Pradesh BJP circles, Angre is a living legend. When the Rajmata was the BJP vice-president, Angre?s words were binding on all, including successive BJP chief ministers such as Sunderlal Patwa, Kailash Joshi and Virendra Kumar Saklecha.

Angre never tried to hide his proximity to the Rajmata though Madhavrao kept blaming him of ?poisoning? her mind. Royal watchers said the Rajmata-Madhavrao feud began during Emergency. Madhavrao left India for Nepal, where his sister Usha Raje lived, and asked his mother to come along. But the Rajmata stayed back and was imprisoned in Delhi?s Tihar jail.

In 1979, when political differences between the Rajmata and her son hit an all-time low, she gave the kothi to Angre on nominal rent. Madhavrao opposed the move and had a public spat with his mother and Angre.

In her autobiography Rajpath se Lokpath tak, the Rajmata has listed the kothi as a possible residence for Jyotiraditya. She said Angre had given her the ?beautiful idea? of decorating the kothi in accordance with Vaastu to make it livable for Jyotiraditya. She even credited Angre with suggesting that the name Hiranvan be changed to Jyotirayan after Jyotiraditya.

The kothi is among several possessions that the Scindias have been fighting over. They include an emerald Shiva lingam and gold tongue scrapers; a vault full of jewellery encrusted with rubies, diamonds and pearls; a sterling silver bathtub set on a leaping fish; over 200 acres of prime real estate in New Delhi; and a Viennese crystal chandelier so heavy that a ramp was built on the roof where it would be hung so that elephants could walk over it to test the roof?s strength.

Angre, 84, estimates the Gwalior estates and companies are worth thousands of crores.

In a recent interview, he said: ?I have not once but several times walked into the jewellery vault. I have personally helped the Rajmata prepare the inventory of all their movable and immovable assets, which runs into 500 pages. The fortune left behind by the Rajmata is fantastic.?