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Bollywood Actor Saif Ali Khan | File Image
The Madhya Pradesh government may now take possession of actor Saif Ali Khan’s family property worth Rs 15,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh as the stay on the historical properties of the Bhopal state, which has been in place since 2015, has been lifted.
Justice Vivek Agarwal of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, on December 13, 2024, dismissed actor Saif Ali Khan’s petition filed against the government notice declaring the Pataudi family’s property in Bhopal as ‘enemy property.’ However, the court allowed him to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal, but neither he nor his family has taken any action so far.
The Madhya Pradesh government had earlier announced that the properties of the last Nawab of Bhopal would be acquired by the state under the Enemy Property Act, of 1968.
The sources said that the Pataudi family has property worth Rs 15,000 crores in Bhopal, which has been in the possession of Saif Ali Khan and Sharmila Tagore’s family. It extends from Kohefiza to Chiklod in Bhopal.
The legal trouble for Saif began in 2014 when the Custodian of Enemy Property Department issued a notice declaring the Pataudi family’s properties in Bhopal as “enemy property.”
The conflict escalated following a 2016 ordinance by the Government of India, which clarified that the heir would have no rights over the Pataudi family’s property.
Saif Ali Khan challenged the notice in the High Court in 2015 and obtained a stay on the property. However, on December 13, 2024, the High Court dismissed his petition, lifting the stay.
In one of the recent decisions, the High Court had given 30 days to Saif Ali Khan and his family to approach the appellate tribunal to reclaim the property.
While the deadline expired, no member of the Nawab family has made any claim yet.
Per the legal process, the government can now take over these properties, with the Bhopal district administration being the acting authority.
“Enemy property” refers to assets owned by individuals who moved to Pakistan during the partition of India and later renounced their Indian citizenship.
The Pataudi family’s property falls into this category because Abida Sultan, daughter of Bhopal Nawab Hamidullah Khan, chose to settle in Pakistan.
Saif Ali Khan is the great-grandson of Hamidullah Khan, who was the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal, a Muslim princely state, until 1949.
Madhya Pradesh, India