Faridkot House

For the Lahore residence, see Faridkot House, Lahore.

28°37′07″N 77°13′50″E / 28.618738°N 77.230577°E / 28.618738; 77.230577

Faridkot House is the former residence of the Maharaja of Faridkot in Delhi.[1] It is located on Copernicus Marg, next to Baroda House. The palace is constructed in the art deco style.[2] In a court battle that took over 20 years, the daughters of Maharaja Sir Harinder Singh won the will and received Rs. 200 billion (US$4.4 billion), which includes Faridkot House.[3][4][5][6] The palace exemplifies late‑1930s Art Deco, featuring a central stepped tower flanked by symmetrical wings and a projecting entrance porch. Horizontal banding on the tower evokes "speed lines", while metal railings resembling ship decks and stylized vent grilles emphasize the Streamline Moderne variant of Deco.[7]

There was also a Faridkot House in Lahore (now in Pakistan).[8]

History

The Faridkot House was commissioned by Maharaja Harinder Singh Brar and completed in 1939. The design is attributed to Austro–Hungarian architect Karl Molt von Heinz, with Sir Sobha Singh as contractor.[9] After Indian independence, it accommodated the Canadian High Commission, then the National Human Rights Commission, before being designated as the National Green Tribunal’s principal office in 2010. In a protracted inheritance dispute that concluded in 2020, the Maharaja’s daughters secured legal ownership of the property as part of a larger ₹20,000 crore estate settlement.[10]

Significance

Faridkot House is one of several princely‑state residences built in New Delhi following the 1911 Imperial Durbar, alongside Baroda House, Jaipur House and others. These palaces symbolized the relationship between British India and the subordinate princely states and remain fine examples of eclectic and modernist architecture in the capital’s Lutyens' Delhi precinct.[11]

References

  1. ^ Ajay, Sura (2 June 2020). "Faridkot maharaja's will found to be forged: Punjab and Haryana high court". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  2. ^ Chauhan, Ekta (6 July 2023). "Delhi's every 'just another old building' could be an Art Deco gem". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  3. ^ "A royal bonanza! After 20 years, daughters of former Punjab Maharaja inherit Rs 20,000-crore property".
  4. ^ "Indian princesses win £2.5 billion inheritance after epic battle over father's will".
  5. ^ "Court stays order declaring Faridkot Maharaja's will for property worth Rs 20,000 as fake".
  6. ^ "Faridkot maharaja's daughters to inherit Rs. 20,000 crore assets". The Hindu. 29 July 2013.
  7. ^ "Discovering Art Deco Buildings in Delhi". The Hard Copy. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  8. ^ "The Faridkot House | Shehr | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  9. ^ "Faridkot House – Deco In Delhi". decoindelhi.com. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  10. ^ "How a Rs 20,000 crore dispute over the property of Faridkot's Maharaja drew to a close". The Indian Express. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  11. ^ Bhowmick, Sumanta K. (1 July 2017). "Princely Palaces of Delhi". PeepulTree. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
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