Saif Ali Khan, along with his mother Sharmila Tagore and sisters Soha and Saba Ali Khan, had long contested the government’s decision to treat their ancestral Bhopal estate—valued at roughly ₹15,000 crore—as “enemy property.”
The family traces its lineage to Nawab Hamidullah Khan, whose assets were notified under the Enemy Property Act after Partition. Saif’s great-grandmother, Abida Sultan, renounced Indian citizenship and settled in Pakistan, triggering the government’s 2014 notification that placed the Pataudi properties under custodian control.
Trial Court’s 2000 Ruling Overturned
In 2000, a trial court acknowledged Saif Ali Khan and his immediate family as legitimate heirs to the Nawab’s estate, overriding earlier claims by other descendants. That decision rested on a will granted to Sajida Sultan—the Nawab’s daughter by his senior wife—and recognized her descendants’ entitlement. Other branches of the family, however, challenged this inheritance, arguing that distribution should follow Muslim Personal Law rather than the terms of the will.
High Court Verdict & Its Directives
On Friday, a division bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court quashed the trial court’s 2000 judgment, effectively stripping Saif’s branch of exclusive heirship. The High Court remanded the matter to the trial court, directing it to reconvene proceedings and finalize its decision within one year. This order opens the door for a fresh adjudication of competing claims and has the potential to reshape the distribution of the sprawling Bhopal estate.
Enemy Property Act
The Enemy Property Act, first enacted in 1958 and expanded after the 1965 India-Pakistan war, empowers the Indian government to seize and manage properties belonging to individuals who migrated to enemy territories. In this case, the Act’s invocation stemmed solely from Abida Sultan’s departure to Pakistan; her renunciation of citizenship was sufficient to classify the entire Nawabi estate as enemy property, regardless of subsequent inheritance disputes.
Timeline of Saif’s Appeals
2014: Custodian of Enemy Property issues notification placing the Pataudi assets under government control.
2015: Saif Ali Khan secures a temporary High Court stay on the notification.
December 13, 2024: The High Court lifts the stay, rejecting Saif’s petition and giving him 30 days to file an appeal to the appellate tribunal.
January 2025: Deadline passes without an appeal; properties become legally available for government acquisition.
With no appeal lodged by the deadline, the Bhopal district administration is poised to initiate formal takeover procedures, potentially bringing long-standing negotiations to an abrupt halt.
Implications For Pataudi Legacy
This ruling has reignited intense public interest in the Pataudi family’s contested legacy. If the trial court ultimately honors rival claims, Saif and his immediate family could lose significant portions of their inheritance. More broadly, the case underscores the Enemy Property Act’s enduring reach—decades after Partition—and its capacity to unsettle modern-day heirs of prominent pre-Partition dynasties.
The trial court must now reopen evidence, hear testimony from competing claimants, and apply either the terms of Nawab Hamidullah Khan’s will or Muslim Personal Law, as directed by the High Court. All parties await that final decision, which is due within a year. Meanwhile, the government retains its custodial control, and preparations for the administrative takeover of the properties may proceed unless further legal stays are secured.
Read More: Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, States High Court, International
