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Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and his family have suffered a major legal setback after the Madhya Pradesh High Court put aside a 25-year-old order that upheld their claim to ancestral property value an estimated Rs 15,000 crores. The court has now ordered a fresh trial within the decades-old inheritance dispute involving the previous royal family of Bhopal.
Madhya Pradesh HC orders fresh trial in Saif Ali Khan’s Rs 15,000 crores inheritance dispute
The property in query traces back to the princely state of Bhopal and was inherited by Saif Ali Khan, his mother Sharmila Tagore, and his sisters Soha and Saba Ali Khan, following the death of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, former Indian cricket captain and Nawab of Pataudi.
Court Sets Aside 2000 Decree
A Bhopal district court had ruled in 2000 that the Pataudi family was the rightful heirs to the estate, based on the succession of Saif’s grandmother, Sajida Sultan, the daughter of the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal, Hamidullah Khan. Nonetheless, in a brand new development, Justice Sanjay Dwivedi of the Madhya Pradesh High Court overturned the trial court’s decision, citing reliance on a precedent that the Supreme Court has since overruled.
“I’m of the opinion that the trial court, without considering other features of the matter, had dismissed the suits, that too relying upon the judgment which has already been overruled by the Supreme Court,” Justice Dwivedi stated within the order. “Thus, for my part, the impugned judgment and decree need to be and are hereby put aside.”
The High Court directed the trial court to re-examine the matter from scratch and permitted all parties to present fresh evidence in light of recent legal developments. The fresh trial is to be conducted expeditiously, ideally inside one 12 months.
Background of the Dispute
The legal battle stems from the inheritance of the non-public property of Nawab Hamidullah Khan, the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal, who had three daughters: Abida, Sajida, and Rabia. Sajida Sultan, who married Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, was declared the heir to the estate after her sister Abida migrated to Pakistan. The succession was formalised in 1962 when the Government of India issued a certificate naming Sajida as the only real inheritor.
Sajida’s son, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, inherited the property, which was eventually passed right down to Saif, Soha, and Saba. Nonetheless, other heirs of the Nawab — including Begum Suraiya Rashid and Nawab Mehr Taj Sajida Sultan — challenged the inheritance, arguing that the partition of Nawab Hamidullah’s property was unfair and didn’t comply with Muslim Personal Law.
Their suit, initially dismissed in 2000, has now been revived by the High Court.
The order also referred to the 1949 Instrument of Accession through which the princely state of Bhopal merged with the Union of India. As per the agreement, the Nawab retained rights to private properties, and succession was to follow the Bhopal Succession to the Throne Act, 1947.
Also Read: Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar starrer upcoming thriller with Priyadarshan titled ‘Haiwaan’
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