In a significant legal blow to Saif Ali Khan, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has rejected his long-pending petition against the government’s move to label his ancestral assets—worth an estimated ₹15,000 crore—as “enemy property.”
The court also overturned a 2000 trial court verdict that had recognized Saif, along with his mother Sharmila Tagore and sisters Soha and Saba Ali Khan, as rightful heirs to the estate. The decision came after other descendants of Nawab Hamidullah Khan contested the inheritance claim, arguing that the succession should follow Muslim Personal Law, rather than favoring Saif’s great-grandmother Sajida Sultan, daughter of the Nawab’s senior wife.
The High Court has now directed the trial court to resume hearings and conclude the case within a year—potentially reshaping the inheritance pattern of the Bhopal royal family and reigniting one of India’s most prominent property disputes.
The controversy began with a 2014 notification issued by the Custodian of Enemy Property, which declared the Pataudi family’s ancestral assets in Bhopal as “enemy property.” This classification falls under the Enemy Property Act, originally enacted in 1958 and expanded after the 1965 India-Pakistan war, allowing the Indian government to take over properties of those who migrated to Pakistan or China.
In this case, the law was invoked due to Saif Ali Khan’s great-grandmother, Abida Sultan—sister of Sajida Sultan and daughter of Nawab Hamidullah Khan—renouncing her Indian citizenship and moving to Pakistan after Partition.
In 2015, Saif Ali Khan challenged the government’s decision to classify his ancestral estate as enemy property and secured a temporary stay from the High Court. However, in a landmark ruling on December 13, 2024, the court dismissed his petition and lifted the stay order. Saif and his family were granted 30 days to appeal to the appellate tribunal to reclaim their rights—but no appeal was filed within the stipulated timeframe. As a result, the properties are now legally open for acquisition by the government, with the Bhopal district administration likely to initiate takeover proceedings soon.
This turn of events has once again brought the spotlight back on the Pataudi family’s disputed legacy and highlighted the enduring impact of the Enemy Property Act—an issue that continues to affect the descendants of many prominent pre-Partition families across India.
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