Saif Ali Khan at risk of losing ancestral assets worth Rs 15,000 crore after MP court order

Madhya Pradesh: Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan’s ancestral properties worth Rs 15,000 crore are one step away from being acquired by the Central Government, after the Madhya Pradesh High Court lifted the stay on their acquisition under the Enemy Property Act, 1968.

The Pataudi family might face the potential loss of ancestral properties, which include the Flag Staff House, Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Four Quarters, New Quarters, Fars Khana, Dar-Us-Salam, Bungalow of Habibi, Ahmedabad Palace and Kohefiza, where Saif Ali Khan spent his childhood.

Saif Ali Khan inherited his share through his grandmother, Sajida Sultan, who was declared a legal heir in 2019.

What is Enemy Property Act, 1968?

The Enemy Property Act of 1968, is an act of the Parliament of India which enables and regulates the appropriation of property in India owned by Pakistani nationals. The act was passed following the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. Ownership is passed to the Custodian of Enemy Property for India, a government department. There are also movable properties categorised as enemy properties.

The Enemy Property Act allows the Union government to claim properties owned by individuals who migrated to Pakistan post-Partition.

When did this begin?

As of 1947, Bhopal was a princely state and Nawab Hamidullah Khan was its last Nawab. He was Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s maternal grandfather and had three daughters. His eldest daughter, Abida Sultan, moved to Pakistan in 1950.

His second daughter Sajida Sultan stayed in India and married Saif Ali Khan’s grandfather Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi. In 2019, the court recognised Sajida Sultan as the legal heir and Saif Ali Khan inherited a share of the properties.

The ancestral properties became controversial after Abida Sultan migrated to Pakistan in 1950. This led to the Central government claiming the properties as enemy property.

The case at the MP court

Parties in the case are Saif Ali Khan, his mother Sharmila Tagore, sisters Soha Ali Khan and Saba Ali Khan and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s sister Sabiha Sultan, and the Centre.

In 2015, the Madhya Pradesh HC started hearing the case after the Mumbai-based Enemy Property Custodian Office declared the Nawab of Bhopal’s land as government property.

Madhya Pradesh HC lifted the 2015 stay on the Pataudi family’s historical properties. While delivering the order on December 13, 2024, Justice Vivek Agarwal, said a statutory remedy exists under the amended Enemy Property Act, 2017, and directed the parties concerned to file a representation within 30 days.