The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed Saif Ali Khan plea against the government s declaration of the estate as "enemy property" under the Enemy Property Act.
This judgment reverses a 2000 lower court order that had earlier declared Saif, his mother Sharmila Tagore and sisters Soha and Saba Ali Khan legitimate heirs to the property. Other descendants of Nawab Hamidullah Khan had challenged the inheritance under Muslim Personal Law claiming that succession should be regulated by it.
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The issue of the matter is Abida Sultan s great-grandson Saif s decision to relocate to Pakistan post-Partition and renounce Indian citizenship. Her relocation prompted the Enemy Property Act—a legislation permitting the Indian government to confiscate assets of individuals who relocated to enemy nations. The Act, which had first been enacted in 1958 and later widened after the 1965 war with Pakistan, was invoked when the Custodian of Enemy Property formally declared the assets of the Bhopal royal family "enemy property" in 2014.
Saif Ali Khan had been granted a stay on this name in 2015. His petition was, though, rejected in December 2024 and the stay was removed. While Saif and his family were provided with 30 days time to appeal which they did not file. This led the state to go ahead and take possession of the estate.
The High Court has now directed the trial court to continue hearing the case and pronounce a final judgment within one year.
Enemy Property Act
The Enemy Property Act makes it possible for the Indian government to confiscate properties belonging to those who had migrated to Pakistan or China post-Partition. Here, the surprise is Abida Sultan, the eldest daughter of Hamidullah Khan, who migrated to Pakistan in 1950. The Indian government contends that the migration renders the Bhopal estate "enemy property", though Sajida Sultan, the second daughter, remained behind and wed Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi—making Saif Ali Khan her own direct descendant.
What s Next?
The ruling places Saif Ali Khan s potential inheritance, valued at more than Rs 15,000 crore, in jeopardy, and leaves the door open for a long-drawn-out legal battle. Whether or not the Pataudi prince and his kin will be allowed to keep any portion of their princely legacy is now in the trial court s hands to decide, as it has to read through a maze of personal law, history, and geopolitical categorization.
This royal succession tug-of-war now risks being one of the most high-profile court property wars of modern Indian history.
