Malcha Mahal

[6] The Royal House of Awadh (descendants of Wazid Ali Shah in Lucknow) claims that the family engaged in fraudulent activities,[7] having been cited by an investigative journalist for the New York Times.

After Wilayat's death, it continued to be inhabited by the Begum's daughter Sakina Mahal, and son Prince Ali Raza (aka Cyrus).

Malcha, along with Raisina, Todapur, Aliganj, Pillanji, Jaisinghpura, and Kushak villages were moved by the British during the construction of capital New Delhi in the 1920s, especially the Viceroy's House, which is now known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Begum Wilayat Mahal had been protesting for nine years by living in a waiting room at the New Delhi railway station, demanding compensation for the loss of her ancestral property in Awadh which was seized when Wajid Ali Shah's kingdom was annexed by the British.

On 22 November 2019, the New England Bureau Chief of The New York Times, Ellen Barry, published a lengthy piece of investigative journalism in which she said she had discovered that Wilayat, in fact, had no connection to the Royal House of Awadh.