From royal vaults to courtrooms: The never-ending saga of Paigah jewels

Hyderabad: The case involving five boxes of jewellery of Nawab Zaheer Yar Jung, which came to light following a recent police complaint by a Hyderabad businessman, continues to be the longest-fought legal battle involving the former nobility of Hyderabad. Zaheer Yar Jung was the last Amir or head of the Asman Jahi Paigah nobility.

The legal fight has been going on for 74 years since 1952, surpassing the Hyderabad Fund case of 1948, which was resolved after 71 years by a court in London in 2019.

Nawab Muhammad Zaheeruddin Khan Bahadur, popularly known as Zaheer Yar Jung, who got permission from the Reserve Bank of India, to carry jewellery worth Rs 13,600 out of India on April 19, 1952, was carrying the valuables estimated to be worth Rs 5 lakh from Santa Cruz airport in Bombay (Mumbai) to London via Cairo when he was intercepted by customs officials on the basis of a tip off.

If inflation adjusted the cost (intrinsic value) of the jewellery would now value at about Rs 100 crore at today's gold price, but its antique value will be several times higher.

Also, the boxes are believed to have contained diamonds and other precious stones. As the jewels belonged to the last Amir of the Paigah, its actual value in the international antique market will be at least Rs 500 crore, according to city historians.

The jewellery boxes were later seized by the collector of Customs, Bombay on June 17, 1952. A personal penalty of Rs 10 lakh was imposed on the Nawab and Rs 5 lakh on his wife Begum Hashmathunnisa. The chief presidency magistrate, Bombay, later imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on the Nawab and his Begum, failing which they were asked to undergo simple imprisonment of six months.

They paid the court penalty but sought time to pay Rs 15 lakh personal penalty imposed by the Customs.

In 1953, there were two debates in the Lok Sabha over the issue of the seized jewellery boxes. Though then Union deputy finance minister Arun Chandra Guha told the Lok Sabha that the jewellery items were indented, he did not give details. It is believed that the boxes contained personal jewellery of Zaheer Yar Jung including diamonds and precious stones.

A perusal of the Parliament proceedings available with eLibrary Sansad reveals that the Paigah noble had sought permission for jewellery worth Rs 16,000 but the Reserve Bank of India gave export permission for only Rs 13,600.

According to Parliament proceedings, the Nawab and the Begum filed an appeal before the Central Board of Revenue against the order of the collector of Customs. After the jewellery was confiscated, it was kept in the vault of State Bank of Hyderabad (now merged with the SBI) for safe custody.

Since then, the battle had started and continues even today with the descendants and others claiming right over the treasure.

Archival records show that Zaheer Yar Jung appealed to the Centre stating that he did not have enough property to pay the Rs 15 lakh penalty. Instead, he asked the govt to take hypothecation of his Jagir estate in Hyderabad state, which the govt was planning to acquire. The govt, however, was not ready to accept the hypothecation as it would involve payments in instalments over 20 years.

The case led to a debate in political circles in nascent independent India if there were other nobles who may have tried to take precious jewels out of India. Guha told Parliament that he was not in a position to answer if other persons had been found doing so.

When MR Krishna, MP from Karimnagar wanted to know whether the penalty and the property recovered from Zaheer Yar Jung and his wife would be used for Hyderabad, the deputy finance minister said the property belonged to the govt.

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Who was Zaheer Yar Jung?

Nawab Zaheer Yar Jung was a Paigah noble and Jagirdar of Zaheerabad after whom the city was named. He was son of Nawab Moin-ud-Doula after whom the gold cup cricket tournament was named, as also the town of Moinabad near Hyderabad. Zaheer Yar Jung served as a minister in the Nizam's cabinet.

Who are Paigah?

Paigah were the second in command in the princely state of Hyderabad right from the Nizam II. They were married into the family of the Nizams.

They held a vast Jagir in Hyderabad state and were the second richest family after the Nizam. At present there are descendants of the three Paigah lineages – Asman Jah, Khursheed Jah and Vicar-ul-Umra. Zaheer Yar Jung belonged to the Asman Jah family.