LOST GLORY: Though Duleep Singh died a pauper, his daughter's endowment has enriched the Supra family

For a real-life chronicle embellished with royalty, riches and intrigue, the conclusion was incredibly fictional. It was happy. At least for the descendants of Karim Baksh Supra of Pakistan who have unexpectedly inherited royal assets worth 1,37,323 Swiss Francs (Rs 39.8 lakh).

The story unveils in Switzerland, the genesis is in Punjab. The tale that was famously uncovered only four years ago in a flurry of media hype, fiery speculation and furious claims, goes back to 1942, when a princess died quietly, leaving behind an unclaimed Swiss vault and worse, a will without any mention of a bank account. She was Princess Catherine, daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the fifth and last ruler of the kingdom founded by his father Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab in 1799.

In July 1997, the Swiss banks published a list of over 5,000 accounts unclaimed since the end of World War II, belonging mostly to the Holocaust victims. These included an innocuous vault-last operated in the 1930s-at the UBS AG Bank in Berne and a joint account in the name of Princess Catherine Hilda Duleep Singh and her governess Lina Schaefer.

The discovery triggered mass speculation: could the vault contain jewels of the erstwhile Sikh empire and secret documents on the Koh-i-noor? Fuelling it was British media reports that said the jewels were removed from the Lahore Durbar before the British annexed Punjab in 1849. Aware that Duleep Singh had died in Paris in 1893 a pauper-puppet in the hands of the British, Punjab historians refused to subscribe to the rumours, but the reports spawned several claimants. They emerged with unsavoury haste from India, Pakistan, Britain and Germany, marking the beginning of a long-winding battle for the inheritance.

PRINCESS BAMBA: Decisive will

PRINCESS CATHERINE: Adding intrigue

However, in an unexpected denouement, the Zurich-based three-member Claims Resolution Tribunal recognised Supra's heirs as the only legal inheritors. Unexpected, because the Lahore-based Muslim family had not even staked its claim to the vault's contents initially. What clinched the panel's decision in favour of Supra's descendants-seven in Pakistan and one in Delhi-was the will of Princess Bamba Sophia Jindan Sutherland, the eldest of three daughters of Duleep Singh. Before her death in Lahore in 1957, Bamba, who like all her six siblings died with no offspring, had nominated Supra, her caretaker-cum-tutor, as the sole inheritor of her estate.

The tribunal's 21-page order, exclusively accessed by India Today, not only denied the entitlement claims of the three Indian Sikh families on the grounds of lineage, it also rejected the Punjab Government's claim to the princess' assets. Incidentally, the verdict coincides with the ongoing bicentenary celebrations of the coronation of Ranjit Singh. In fact, unaware of the ruling, the state has been trying to evoke nostalgia by minting replicas of coins issued by the legendary Sikh ruler, in pure gold and silver, imported from Switzerland.

After a three-year scrutiny of several documents-historical records, including a genealogical reference from the Nazi archives, royal wills and pedigree tables-submitted by the claimants, the tribunal concluded that there was no direct living descendant of either Duleep Singh or Catherine. This fact formed the basis of Punjab's claim to the assets, the state Government being one of the seven claimants-four Indians, two Germans and one British-shortlisted by the tribunal. Punjab's claim, a closely guarded secret and pursued through the Indian Embassy in Switzerland, banked on the Indian law, according to which the inheritance of former rulers of princely states with no direct living heirs vested with the Indian Government. But the tribunal trashed the contention saying Catherine was not a ruler of a princely state and held a private account in the bank. In August this year, Punjab withdrew, choosing not to contest the ruling.

Heritage Bounty Hunters Indians were among seven claimants to Catherine's booty: Lt-colonel K.K.V. Singh of Zirakpur, meet Pal Singh of Attari and Ranjit Kaur of Delhi: All traced their lineage to Maharaja Sher Singh, half-brother of Maharaja Duleep Singh. PUNJAB GOVERNMENT: Staked claim under the Indian law that inheritance of former rulers of princely states with no direct living heirs vested with Indian Government.

The other Indian claimants belonged to the Attari clan and were represented by Lt-Colonel K.K.V. Singh of Zirakpur, Meet Pal Singh of Attari and Ranjit Kaur of Delhi. They traced their lineage to Maharaja Sher Singh, half-brother of Duleep Singh. Their contention: since Catherine was the niece of their great-great-grandfather, they were the closest relations and were entitled to her assets under the Indian Succession Act. While the tribunal recognised the paternal lineage of Lt-Colonel Singh and Meet Pal, it ruled that "this relationship did not necessarily entitle them to the account". The tribunal also denied the claims of the three Europeans who had traced their lineage to the princess's mother or her brother.

In the absence of a direct living descendant, the tribunal relied on the wills of Catherine and her siblings. The case took a dramatic twist in June this year when the tribunal invited the Supra family to file a claim. Karim Baksh, since dead, was identified by the tribunal as "sole beneficiary" of Bamba's will who had inherited Catherine's estate as per the latter's will signed in 1942. But since by a queer coincidence the Swiss account didn't figure in either of the wills, the tribunal invoked the English inheritance law. The statute draws on the legality of the will to determine inheritance in the absence of direct blood relations. In her will, Bamba, who lived in Lahore for close to half a century, bequeathed Supra "all her movable and immovable property of any description in all the three countries of Pakistan, republic of India and the UK belonging to me or found to belong to me".

"It's strange that the panel considers the will stronger than blood ties," says a dejected Lt-Colonel Singh who even challenged the validity of the Bamba testament, which was later quashed. The Attaris have finally reconciled to the ruling. "We have lost out on the inheritance but not on our royal lineage," says Singh.

As per the tribunal award, Supra's five living sons-four in Pakistan and one in India-and his deceased daughter's children, will receive an equal share of the assets besides the interest on the amount since July 12 this year. The windfall has taken the family by surprise. "We want to avoid any publicity," says Jamaal, daughter of Muhammad Akbar, one of Supra's sons in Delhi. They can try, but for all purposes they have already failed.