Pataudi family may lose property worth Rs 15,000 crore after court order
On December 13, 2024, the Madhya Pradesh High Court asked the Pataudi family to present their side before the appellate authority in 30 days. As of January 21, however, it was not clear whether the family did so.
by Ravish Pal Singh · India TodayIn Short
- Nawab of Bhopal's land declared government property in 2015
- Pataudi family said ancestral properties on that land belong to them
- Madhya Pradesh High Court lifted stay on the properties worth Rs 15,000 crore
Ancestral properties worth Rs 15,000 crore belonging to Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan's Pataudi family in Madhya Pradesh, with a majority of them in Bhopal, may come under the Centre's control after a court lifted a stay order on these assets.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court lifted the stay imposed on the ancestral properties, which could result in their acquisition under the Enemy Property Act, 1968.
According to the Act, the Central government can claim properties owned by individuals who migrated to Pakistan after Partition in 1947.
On December 13, 2024, a single bench of the High Court asked the Pataudi family to present their side before the appellate authority in 30 days. As of January 21, however, it was not clear whether the family did so.
Due to the unclear situation, the Bhopal district administration refused to comment on such developments. However, Bhopal Collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh said any action will be taken only after the High Court order is clear.
WHAT IS THE CASE?
The Mumbai-based Enemy Property Custodian Office had declared the Nawab of Bhopal's land as government property in 2015, after which the Pataudi family went to court.
The High Court began hearing the enemy property case in 2015 against 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 and others.
The Pataudi family has been claiming their land in Bhopal and Raisen, which includes Kohefiza's Flag House, Ahmedabad Palace, besides the Kothi and forest located in Chiklod, Raisen.
The Pataudi family has been claiming that many properties, including Noor-e-Saba, Flag House, Dar-us-Salam, Four Quarters, New Quarters, Fars Khana, Kohefiza, Ahmedabad Palace belong to them.
In 1947, Bhopal was a princely state and its last Nawab was Nawab Hamidullah Khan, who was Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi's maternal grandfather. Nawab Hamidullah Khan had three daughters, of which the eldest one, Abida Sultan, migrated to Pakistan in 1950.
His second daughter, Sajida Sultan, remained in India, and married Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, Saif Ali Khan's grandfather, and became the legal heir of the properties.
In 2019, the court recognised Sajid Sultan as the legal heir and Saif Ali Khan, her grandson, inherited a share of the properties. However, Abida Sultan's migration to Pakistan resulted in the Central government claiming the properties as enemy property.