Govt eyes Saif Ali Khan's family properties in Bhopal

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The Madhya Pradesh High Court's in India recent ruling may lead to the government gaining control over the Pataudi family's historic properties, valued at $180billion, in Bhopal.

This move could see the properties of Saif Ali Khan’s family transferred under the provisions of the Enemy Property Act, 1968.

The court’s decision lifted a stay imposed on these properties in 2015, allowing the government to potentially seize them due to their connection with the family of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan.

Prominent properties involved include the Flag Staff House, where Saif spent his childhood, and other significant buildings such as Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Dar-Us-Salam, and Kohefiza Property, among others. These assets are connected to the Nawab of Bhopal’s family, specifically to the family’s legacy following Partition in 1947.

The court ruled that the statutory remedy under the amended Enemy Property Act, 2017, applies to the case, opening the door for the government to make a claim over these properties. The decision also included a 30-day window for representations from the concerned parties, particularly from the family.

The Enemy Property Act allows the central government to acquire properties belonging to individuals or families who migrated to Pakistan after the Partition. In this case, Hamidullah Khan, the last Nawab of Bhopal, had three daughters.

One daughter, Abida Sultan, migrated to Pakistan in 1950, while the second daughter, Sajida Sultan, remained in India and married Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi. The legal claim for the properties was tied to the fact that Abida Sultan's migration made the assets potentially eligible as “enemy properties.”

Despite the legal complexity, the family’s legal heir, Sajida Sultan’s grandson, Saif Ali Khan, inherited a portion of these properties.

However, the government has now invoked the Enemy Property Act due to the migration of Abida Sultan. In a ruling from 2019, the court recognised Sajida Sultan as the legal heir, but the latest court decision has reignited the family’s ongoing property dispute.

Bhopal’s district collector, Kaushalendra Vikram Singh, has announced plans to examine ownership records dating back over 72 years.

As part of these developments, residents living on the Pataudi family’s properties are concerned about their future. With a potential government acquisition looming, many fear eviction or changes to their tenancy status.

 

 

 

 

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Previously, Saif Ali Khan was brutally attacked by an intruder at his 11th-floor Mumbai apartment.

The actor intervened in a confrontation between the attacker and one of his housemaids, and was stabbed six times.

Rushed to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, Saif underwent multiple surgeries to treat injuries to his neck and remove a 2.5-inch knife lodged in his spine. The actor was discharged from the hospital yesterday.