Saif Ali Khan loses legal ground —What's next for the royal inheritance fight? Details inside

Time of India

16 hours ago

In a big setback for
and his family, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has overturned a decades-old order that once secured their claim over the royal properties of Bhopal. For years, Saif, along with his mother
and sisters Soha and Saba, were legally recognized as rightful heirs to these sprawling ancestral estates.
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But that status has now been thrown into uncertainty.
The family has long laid claim to an impressive collection of properties passed down from the Nawab of Bhopal. These include some of the city's most valuable landmarks, like the Noor-Us-Sabah Palace Hotel, Saif's childhood home Flag Staff House, and thousands of acres of surrounding land. For nearly 25 years, a trial court ruling had upheld their ownership. But with this new decision, everything is back on the table.
What exactly has the High Court decided?
According to News18, the High Court's ruling has erased the earlier judgment that validated the Pataudi family's ownership. Justice Sanjay Dwivedi has sent the case back to the trial court, instructing it to review all the claims again and finish the proceedings within a year. Until a new verdict comes out, Saif and his family can't officially call these properties their own.
This dispute isn't just about rival family claims. It also involves the Enemy Property Act of 1968, which allows the government to seize property belonging to those who migrated to Pakistan after Partition. In 2015, the Enemy Property Department began questioning whether the Pataudi family ever had the right to inherit what some officials argue should have been classified as 'enemy property.' Saif has been fighting that investigation ever since.
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What is the root of the dispute?
To understand the controversy, you have to go back to Nawab Hamidullah Khan, the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal. He had three daughters: Abida Sultan, Sajida Sultan, and Rabia Sultan. Under the Bhopal Succession to the Throne Act of 1947, his eldest daughter, Abida, was supposed to inherit everything. But in 1950, Abida moved to Pakistan—ten years before her father passed away. That move technically meant her inheritance could be seized under the Enemy Property Act.
Even so, Sajida Sultan—Saif's grandmother—was declared the legal successor. Many believe her marriage to Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and his close ties to then-Prime Minister
helped secure her claim to the estate.
What happens next?
With the High Court wiping the legal slate clean, the district court will now re-examine every detail of the case. The ruling has reignited old tensions within the Nawab's family and cast fresh scrutiny on how politics shaped royal succession in newly independent India. Until the court reaches a new decision, the Pataudi family's hold over the Bhopal estate remains in legal limbo.