 "How did Saif Ali Khan inherit Nawab of Bhopal’s Rs 15,000-cr properties? Has he lost them now?")
In a big blow for Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and his kin, the Madhya Pradesh High Court last week set aside a decades-old trial court ruling that had made him, his two sisters and mother the sole legal heirs to the properties of the erstwhile Nawab of Bhopal.
Their inheritance was challenged in an appeal by the heirs of Nawab Hamidullah Khan. Saif Ali Khan is also fighting a separate legal battle over these properties.
What is the case? How did Saif Ali Khan inherit the Bhopal royal properties? Let’s take a closer look.
Why Saif Ali Khan is an heir of Nawab of Bhopal’s properties
Saif Ali Khan and his family came to inherit the properties of the erstwhile Nawab of the Bhopal princely state from his father’s mother, Sajida Begum.
Sajida, the second daughter of Hamidullah Khan — the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal — became the legal heir of her father’s properties after her elder sister Abida Begum migrated to Pakistan in 1950.
Sajida then went on to inherit the Nawab title as well as properties estimated to be worth over Rs 15,000 crore.
Sajida Begum married Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the Nawab of Pataudi. Their son was the popular cricketer, Mansoor Ali Khan ‘Tiger Pataudi’. Mansoor and veteran actor Sharmila Tagore have three children — Saif, Soha, and Saba Ali Khan.
Saif Ali Khan , the grandson of Sajida and the Nawab of Pataudi, inherited a share of the Bhopal properties.
These include thousands of acres of land in and around Bhopal, along with estates such as Flag Staff House, Noor-Us-Sabah Palace Hotel, Dar-Us-Salam, and Ahmedabad Palace.
The dispute over Bhopal royal properties
A case was filed by other family members of Hamidullah Khan, including his third daughter, Rabia Begum, and his elder brother, Obaidullah Khan.
Hamidullah Khan had two wives, Maimoona Sultan and Aftab Jahan. Maimoona and Khan had three daughters: Abida Sultan, Sajida Sultan, and Rabia Sultan.
When the princely state of Bhopal merged with the Union of India in 1949, it was decided that the absolute ownership of the Nawab’s personal property and the succession to the throne would be governed by the Bhopal Succession to the Throne Act, 1947.
Senior advocate Jagdish Chavan, who has represented Saif’s father, told ThePrint that the Nawab’s property would have gone to the eldest son as per the Bhopal Succession to the Throne Act. However, due to no male heir, Abida Sultan, the eldest daughter, would have inherited the throne and the property.
“If one goes by the succession act, Abida was the successor. But she was a resident of Pakistan and hence, the property would have simply been declared as enemy property,” Chavan said.
Sajida Sultan’s husband’s political friendship helped her to inherit the Nawab title and Bhopal properties.
“At the time, Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister and shared a friendship with Iftikhar Ali Khan, the grandfather of Saif Ali Khan. So, a year after the death of Nawab Hamidullah Khan, his second daughter, Sajida Sultan—after Abida Sultan—was made the successor. Sajida was married to Iftikhar,” the advocate added.
In the 1970s, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi abolished the privy purse, a payment made by the Indian government to the ruling families of former princely states as part of the merger of their states with India after Independence. Royal titles were also discontinued.
Following this, “Maimoona Sultan and the third child, Rabiya Sultan, filed a partition suit and sought a rendition of accounts of the Nawab’s property in the district court. They demanded partition under Muslim Personal Law (Shariat). This was in 1971,” Chavan told ThePrint.
Obaidullah Khan, Hamidullah Khan’s brother, who also received privy purses filed another suit. The family members of Hamidullah and his brother are seeking partition and succession of the Nawab’s private properties as per the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937.
In 2000, the district court in Bhopal ruled on both suits. “As per the judgment, according to the Bhopal Throne Succession Act, 1947, and Notification of the Government of India, Sajida Sultan remained the successor of the entire property of Hamidullah Khan and no partition based on Muslim law was recognised,” Chavan said.
As the judgement was not in favour of the last ruling Nawab’s other family members, they approached the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court against the trial court’s order.
The appellant heirs had argued in the High Court that the trial court incorrectly made the assumption that the Nawab’s private properties were part of the throne and hence would automatically go to the successor to the throne, as per Indian Express.
On June 30, the Madhya Pradesh High Court HC dismissed the 25-year-old trial court order that upheld Saif Ali Khan and his family as the rightful owners of the properties of the Nawab of Bhopal.
It also directed “the trial Court shall make all possible efforts to conclude and decide it expeditiously, preferably within a period of one year.”
The High Court has now ordered a fresh trial. After the setback, advocate Chavan believes the Bollywood actor and his kin would only get a small part of the Bhopal royal assets.
“Saif Ali Khan, by my calculation, will receive only two to three per cent of the Nawab’s property,” he was quoted as saying by the digital news outlet. “The family isn’t left with much legal recourse now.”
What’s the Enemy Properties case?
The Bhopal royal properties that went to the Pataudi family were declared as “ enemy property ” in 2014 by the Custodian of Enemy Property Department. The migration of Abida Sultan, the Nawab of Bhopal’s heir apparent, to Pakistan was the government’s basis for claiming the properties as “enemy property.”
Under the Enemy Property Act, 1968, the Indian government can seize the properties and companies of individuals who took Pakistani nationality.
In 2015, the Pataudi family moved the MP High Court against the Custodian’s notice. The HC put a temporary stay on the government’s “enemy property” order at the time.
Four years later, the court recognised Sajida Sultan as the Nawab’s legal heir. However, in January this year, the High Court dismissed Saif’s petition and lifted the stay.
It also asked the Bollywood actor to approach the appellate authority against the government order. It remains unclear whether Saif moved the tribunal by January 12.
With inputs from agencies
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