Actor Saif Ali Khan has suffered a major setback regarding the ancestral property of the Nawab family in Bhopal. As per the reports, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has quashed the lower court’s decision in which Saif Ali Khan and his family were considered heirs of the property.
Along with this, the central government has declared his family property, including Saif’s childhood home, Flag Staff House, the grand Noor-as-Sabah Palace, and others, worth Rs 15,000 crores as ‘enemy property’, because one of the heirs had gone to Pakistan at the time of partition.
The High Court has ordered the trial court to start hearing again. There has been a long-running dispute over the property of the royal family of Bhopal. The Madhya Pradesh High Court has given an important decision in this dispute. The High Court has quashed the lower court’s decision in which actor Saif Ali Khan, his sisters Soha Ali Khan and Saba Ali Khan, and their mother Sharmila Tagore were considered heirs of Bhopal’s properties.
Other heirs challenged the decision
Other heirs of Nawab Hamidullah Khan had challenged this decision. Reportedly, Nawab said that the division of property should be done according to the Muslim Personal Law (Sharia) Act, 1937, which was in force at the time of Nawab’s death in 1960. He had filed a petition in the trial court in 1999. Now the High Court has ordered the trial court to start the hearing again and settle the entire case within a year. This can change the entire structure of the legacy of the royal family of Bhopal.
The family tree of Saif Ali Khan, great-grandfather, Nawab Hamidullah Khan
Nawab Hamidullah Khan had three daughters. One daughter, Abida Sultan, had gone to Pakistan. The other two stayed in India. Saif’s grandmother, Sajida Sultan, was one of those who stayed in India. Now the government is saying that because an heir had gone to Pakistan, this property becomes enemy property.
More trouble for Saif Ali Khan?
The troubles for Saif Ali Khan do not end here. The central government has declared his family property worth about ₹ 15,000 crores as ‘enemy property’. This decision was taken under the Enemy Property Act, according to which if a person went to Pakistan at the time of partition, then his properties in India came under the government. These properties include: Saif’s childhood home Flag Staff House, the grand Noor-as-Sabah Palace, Dar-as-Salam, Habibi’s bungalow, Ahmedabad Palace and Kohefiza property.
The government had issued a notice on this in 2014. Saif opposed it in 2015 and got a stay from the court, but on 13 December 2024, the High Court lifted that stay. Now the court had given Saif and his family 30 days to claim, but in the meantime, no claim was filed. On the work front, Saif will be seen in Race 4.