Published On:
February 13, 2026
Updated On:
February 13, 2026
Maharaja Manujendra Shah of Tehri Garhwal is finalizing the sale of his sprawling 3.2-acre heritage estate on Bhagwan Das Road in Delhi's Lutyens' Bungalow Zone. Valued at approximately ₹1,000 crore, this monumental transaction with a prominent food and beverage entrepreneur is set to become one of the most expensive residential real estate deals in Indian history.
The real estate market in the heart of the national capital is currently witnessing a tectonic shift, driven by a transaction that redefines the concept of luxury property in India. The Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone, universally recognized as the country’s most exclusive and expensive pincode, is notoriously tightly held. Properties here rarely change hands, and when they do, the deals are conducted with intense discretion among the upper echelons of India’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Breaking this quiet exclusivity, a monumental agreement is currently unfolding involving the royal family of Tehri Garhwal and a local business magnate.
At the center of this financial whirlwind is the Tehri Garhwal House, a historic estate belonging to Maharaja Manujendra Shah. The proposed sale of this expansive property carries a staggering valuation of approximately ₹1,000 crore, a figure that is sending ripples through the luxury real estate sector and establishing a new benchmark for standalone residential properties in the capital.
To comprehend the astronomical valuation of this deal, one must look at the sheer scale and location of the property. Officially recorded as Plot Number 5, Block Number 159, and widely known simply as 5, Bhagwan Das Road, the estate is a sprawling testament to colonial-era grandeur and royal legacy.
The property covers a massive 3.2 acres, which translates to roughly 12,950 square meters. In a city where space is the ultimate luxury, an undivided, private land parcel of this magnitude in the geographical center of the capital is virtually unheard of. The pricing breaks down to an estimated ₹7.72 lakh per square meter, reflecting the immense premium attached to the land itself rather than just the brick-and-mortar structure sitting upon it.
The Tehri Garhwal House features the quintessential architectural elements that define the Lutyens zone. These include deep, shaded verandas, high ceilings designed for natural cooling, and sweeping, manicured lawns shaded by decades-old heritage trees. Properties of this nature are not just homes; they are historical artifacts. Owning a 3.2-acre estate right next to the administrative and judicial nerve centers of the country offers an unparalleled level of prestige and security that cannot be replicated anywhere else in India.
While the seller brings royal heritage to the table, the profile of the prospective buyer highlights the shifting demographics of wealth in modern India. The individual acquiring the Tehri Garhwal House is a highly successful, Delhi-based entrepreneur with deep, established interests in the food and beverage industry. While their identity remains officially undisclosed during these final stages of the transaction, their recent activities in the real estate market indicate an aggressive strategy to consolidate trophy assets in the capital.
The buyer already resides within the Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone and is rapidly expanding their footprint. The acquisition of the Bhagwan Das Road property is reportedly just one half of a massive real estate play. Market intelligence reveals that the same business family is concurrently finalizing another historic purchase just a few blocks away. They are in the advanced stages of acquiring 17 Motilal Nehru Marg, a property of immense historical weight as it served as the first official residence of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
That parallel transaction, being negotiated with Rajkumari Kakkar and Bina Rani of a Rajasthan royal family, carries an even higher price tag, estimated at over ₹1,100 crore. By executing back-to-back acquisitions of two of the most significant landmark estates in the capital, the buyer is single-handedly infusing over ₹2,100 crore into the LBZ market. This aggressive acquisition strategy demonstrates a clear belief that these historic estates function as sovereign asset classes, immune to standard market fluctuations.
The seller in this historic transaction represents one of the most prominent royal lineages in northern India. Maharaja Manujendra Shah is the seventh and current titular head of the Tehri Garhwal royal family, having assumed the title in early 2007. Born in 1948, his educational background includes time at the prestigious Modern School and St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi, highlighting the family's long-standing connection to the capital.
The Tehri Garhwal dynasty has deep historical roots dating back to the period before the Gorkha invasions in the early 19th century, later functioning as a powerful princely state under British paramountcy. Even after the princely state was merged with Uttar Pradesh following India's independence in 1949, the royal family maintained a highly visible and influential presence in both regional politics and national high society.
The Tehri Garhwal House on Bhagwan Das Road was developed as the family's primary urban retreat, serving as a hub for their political and social engagements in the capital for decades. Today, the family's political legacy continues through Maharaja Manujendra Shah’s wife, Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, who is a sitting Member of Parliament representing the Tehri Garhwal constituency. The decision to liquidate this generational asset highlights a broader trend among erstwhile royal families who are choosing to monetize their massive, maintenance-heavy urban real estate holdings to diversify their investment portfolios.
When a residential property commands a price tag of ₹1,000 crore, the immediate question is what justifies such an extraordinary valuation. The answer lies in the unique regulatory and geographical constraints of the Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone.
Designed by British architect Edwin Lutyens between 1912 and 1930, the LBZ is spread over approximately 28 square kilometers. It is a strictly preserved, low-density green oasis in the middle of a chaotic metropolis. The zone houses the highest offices of the Indian government, foreign diplomatic missions, and the residences of top political figures and military brass. Out of the roughly 3,000 bungalows in this enclave, the vast majority are owned by the government. Privately owned, freehold properties are incredibly rare, making them highly coveted by the nation's billionaires.
The pricing mechanics in the LBZ operate completely differently from other high-end markets like South Mumbai. In Mumbai, astronomical property prices are often driven by the Floor Space Index or Floor Area Ratio. Developers pay top dollar for land because they can build vertically, stacking dozens of luxury apartments to maximize their return on investment.
The Lutyens zone, however, operates under draconian building regulations designed to protect its heritage character. Height restrictions are strictly enforced, and large-scale vertical redevelopment is entirely prohibited. A buyer paying ₹1,000 crore for the Tehri Garhwal House is not buying the potential to build a high-rise condominium. They are paying for the exclusivity of the land, the prestigious address, and the sheer scarcity of a 3.2-acre private plot. In this micro-market, location scarcity entirely overrides yield potential. The value is locked in the ground and the history it holds.
Transferring ownership of a heritage property of this magnitude is a highly complex legal maneuver. The regulatory framework governing properties in central Delhi is notoriously intricate, often involving a mix of freehold and long-term leasehold arrangements under the jurisdiction of the Land and Development Office.
To ensure the transaction is airtight, the prospective buyer has engaged a top-tier legal firm to conduct exhaustive due diligence. As part of this rigorous process, a formal public notice has been issued regarding Plot No. 5, Block No. 159. This notice publicly identifies Maharaja Manujendra Shah as the current owner and invites any individual or entity holding a claim, right, or title dispute over the estate to step forward with documentary evidence.
Publishing such a notice is standard but critical operating procedure in high-value real estate transfers. It serves to protect the buyer from any future litigation regarding inheritance disputes, undisclosed liens, or third-party claims that could compromise the title. Given the deep historical roots of the Tehri Garhwal family and the generational nature of the asset, ensuring a clean and unencumbered title is paramount before executing a ₹1,000 crore financial transfer.
The impending sale of the Tehri Garhwal House is not an isolated phenomenon but rather the pinnacle of a recent surge in ultra-luxury real estate activity in central Delhi. The market has witnessed several quiet but massive transactions over the past few years, confirming that the appetite for trophy assets among India's ultra-rich remains insatiable.
Recent years have seen prominent industrialists and corporate leaders acquiring LBZ properties in the range of ₹200 crore to ₹450 crore. For instance, a firm associated with a global steel baron secured a property on APJ Abdul Kalam Road for over ₹310 crore, marking one of the highest-value transactions of that particular year. Similarly, prominent political and business families have recently closed deals in the elite Golf Links neighborhood—adjacent to the LBZ—for upwards of ₹100 crore.
However, the ₹1,000 crore valuation of the Bhagwan Das Road estate shatters all previous benchmarks. It fundamentally alters the pricing expectations for large-acreage properties in central Delhi. This transaction signals to the market that despite global economic uncertainties or domestic interest rate fluctuations, the demand at the very top of the wealth pyramid operates on its own distinct frequency.
For the buyer, acquiring the Tehri Garhwal House is the ultimate statement of arrival and permanence in the capital's power corridors. For the real estate industry, it is a glaring reminder that while high-rise luxury penthouses offer modern conveniences, the true pinnacle of Indian real estate remains rooted in the sprawling, historic lawns of Lutyens' Delhi. As the legal paperwork nears completion, the city watches as a piece of royal heritage seamlessly transitions into the hands of modern enterprise, writing the next chapter in the storied history of Bhagwan Das Road.
