The government is monitoring Saif Ali Khan’s family properties in Bhopal

The recent ruling by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in India may result in the government gaining control of the Pataudi family’s $180 billion historic properties in Bhopal.

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

The court’s ruling lifted the moratorium placed on these properties in 2015, allowing the government to potentially seize them because of their connection to the family of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan.

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

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 claim these properties. The decision also included a 30-day deadline for representations from interested parties, particularly the family.

The Enemy Property Act allows the central government to acquire properties belonging to individuals or families who migrated to Pakistan after 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 to the properties was linked to the fact that Abida Sultan’s immigration made the assets potentially eligible as “enemy property”.

Despite the legal complexities, 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 Abida Sultan’s immigration. In a 2019 ruling, the court recognized Sajida Sultan as the rightful heir, but the latest court ruling reignited the family’s ongoing property dispute.

Bhopal district collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh has announced plans to examine property records dating back more than 72 years.

Amidst these developments, residents living on the Pataudi family properties are worried about their future. With a potential government takeover looming, many fear eviction or changes to their tenancy.

Earlier, Saif Ali Khan was brutally attacked by an intruder in his 11th floor apartment in Mumbai.

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

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