The Supreme Court has overturned a 14-year-old order by the Rajasthan High Court, effectively reopening a land dispute valued at ₹400 crore between the state government and the Rajasthan royal family.

The case revolves around a disagreement over land ownership, with the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) claiming the land belongs to the public, while the royal family asserts its private ownership. The specific details of the initial dispute and the High Court's order have not been fully detailed in available sources. However, the JDA approached the Supreme Court on December 10 of last year, arguing that public land was lost on technical grounds, despite the case involving public title, completed acquisitions, and settled revenue records.

The High Court had declined to intervene in the dispute on September 15 of last year, leaving a trial court decree intact without appellate scrutiny. The Supreme Court's decision to set aside this order now allows for a renewed examination of the case's merits.

This is not the first time the Rajasthan royal family has been involved in legal disputes concerning property. In September 2025, the Supreme Court restored the ₹3,000-crore historic estates of Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh, a member of the Constituent Assembly, to a charitable trust he created, following a nearly 40-year litigation with the State of Rajasthan. The state had claimed the estates based on the principle of escheat, arguing that Mr. Singh had died without a will. The Supreme Court ultimately upheld the Delhi High Court's decision to validate Mr. Singh's will, asserting that the State government had no standing to challenge it.

The court's decision in the Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh case established a precedent against government interference in private wills without proving intestacy and the absence of heirs. It remains to be seen how this precedent, if at all, may influence the current land dispute between the Rajasthan royals and the state government.

Furthermore, in October 2025, the Rajasthan High Court declared that princely titles such as 'Maharaja' and 'Rajkumar' hold no legal standing in contemporary India. The court gave the descendants of the former Jaipur royal family until October 13, 2025, to stop using royal titles or face dismissal of their decades-old legal case, emphasizing equality under Indian law.

The Supreme Court’s intervention in the ₹400 crore land dispute signals a renewed chapter in the legal battle between the Rajasthan government and the royal family. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for land ownership and property rights in the region.