Q. Which among the following states was annexed to British Empire on the pretext of maladministration?
Answer: Awadh
Notes: Awadh could not be annexed on the basis of the Doctrine of Lapse as Wajid Ali Shah, the then Nawab of Awadh has several successors. Awadh was formally annexed to the British Empire in India on 7 Feb 1856 when the reigning monarch, Wajid Ali Shah , refused to sign a treaty handling over the administration to east India company, with this act Lord Dalhousie brought to a logical end the progressive subordination of Awadh to British economic and political control that begun with the battle of buxar. He annexed Awadh in the name of “good of the governed”, condemning the Nawab for misrule the Nawab for misrule and ill administration. Note : Sadaat Ali, the Nawab of Awadh had to accept the subsidiary alliance on Nov. 10 1801