India's government has told the
Supreme Court that it won't request the return of the 106-carat
Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is now part of the British crown
jewels, the Associated Press reported.
In a surprise statement, India's solicitor general told the
court on Monday that Britain shouldn't have to give the
diamond back. Ranjit Kumar said the diamond had been given
freely to the British in the mid-19th century by the family of
Punjab's Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and had been "neither stolen
nor forcibly taken by British rulers."
The court was hearing a petition filed by a rights group
asking it to order the government to seek the return of the
diamond.
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