: A 1951 model antique hand-made classic Rolls Royce car, a single model till date valuing more than Rs 2.5 crore at present and ordered by first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the erstwhile 'maharani' of Baroda, has become a major bone of contention in a matrimonial dispute in the Supreme Court. The dispute of the estranged couple has reached the apex court after the Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court quashed a case lodged by the woman against her husband for alleged dowry demand and cruelty.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, which on Wednesday heard the plea of the woman through senior advocate Vibha Datta Makhija, asked both the parties to explore the possibility of settlement through mediation. "If both settle the dispute amicably then there is nothing like that," Justice Kant observed, and asked the parties to give one more try to settle the dispute. It noted, "Senior counsel/counsel for the parties jointly state that though mediation had earlier failed before different forums, however, it is worth trying under the aegis of the Supreme Court Mediation Centre to give one more opportunity to the parties for amicable resolution of their dispute.
" Considering Makhija's request, which was agreed to by the other side, the bench appointed senior advocate R Basant as a mediator. "We, accordingly, appoint R Basant, senior advocate and former judge of the High Court of Kerala to be the mediator. The parties may contact R Basant to fix a date for int.