Delhi HC orders reassessment of value of Salman Rushdie's ancestral house

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed a fresh evaluation of the market value of Salman Rushdie's ancestral house in the Civil Lines area.

The order came on the property is subject to a stalled 1970 deal between Rushdie's father, Anis Ahmed Rushdie, and Congress leader Bhiku Ram Jain.

Hearing an appeal, a division bench of Justices Vibhu Bakhru and Amit Mahajan overturned the previous order, dated December 24, 2019, which valued the property at Rs 130 crore, and instructed the single judge bench to reevaluate the property's worth based on Supreme Court directives.

The resolution to the long-standing dispute, reaching the Supreme Court in 2012, came in favour of Jain, directing the Rushdies to transfer the house at the market price as of December 3, 2012.

However, the determination of the property's value was left to the high court.

The recent appeal by the Jains challenged the single judge's valuation at Rs 130 crore as of December 3, 2012.

The division bench found fault with the approach of setting dual sale considerations, deeming it inconsistent with determining market value. It stressed the importance of considering the price agreeable to a willing buyer and seller, rejecting the notion of directing an actual sale to determine value.

It disagreed with the assumption that property prices had fallen from 2012 to 2019, noting the lack of supporting evidence.

The bench also noted potential impacts on rights created by Rushdies in favour of other individuals, cautioning against compelling a sale based on the Jains' failure to pay the determined consideration.

The next hearing is scheduled for December 11.