Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has faced a major setback in his legal fight over his ancestral property valued at Rs 15,000 crore located in Bhopal, India. According to Express News, the Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld the government’s decision to declare the estate as enemy property, dismissing Saif’s petition.
The court overturned a previous 2000 ruling that had recognized Saif, his mother Sharmila Tagore, and sisters Soha and Saba Ali Khan as rightful heirs to the property.
The dispute arose when other heirs of Nawab Hamidullah Khan challenged the earlier decision, arguing that inheritance should follow Muslim personal law.
The root cause stems from Saif’s great-grandmother Abida Sultan, daughter of Nawab Hamidullah Khan, who migrated to Pakistan after the Partition and renounced her Indian citizenship. This allowed the government to classify the property under the Enemy Property Act (1958), which enables seizure of assets owned by individuals from enemy countries such as Pakistan.
In 2014, the enemy property authority officially classified the Bhopal royal family estate as enemy property. Saif Ali Khan had obtained a temporary stay order against this decision in 2015. However, on December 13, 2024, the High Court rejected his appeal and lifted the stay.
The court gave Saif and his family 30 days to file a further appeal, but no appeal was submitted, clearing the way for the Indian government to take possession of the property.
