Madhya Pradesh High Court Orders Fresh Trial in Saif Ali Khan’s ₹15,000 Crore Inheritance DisputeThe Madhya Pradesh High Court has set aside a 25-year-old order that upheld Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and his family’s claim to ancestral property valued at approximately ₹15,000 crores. The court directed a fresh trial in the long-standing inheritance dispute involving the former royal family of Bhopal. The property originally belonged to the princely state of Bhopal and was passed down to 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.
The earlier ruling by a Bhopal district court in 2000 had recognized the Pataudi family as rightful heirs based on the succession of Saif’s grandmother, Sajida Sultan, daughter of the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal, Hamidullah Khan. However, Justice Sanjay Dwivedi of the Madhya Pradesh High Court overturned this decision, citing that the trial court had relied on a precedent since overruled by the Supreme Court. The High Court has instructed the trial court to reconsider the case from the beginning, allowing all parties to submit fresh evidence, with the trial to be completed within one year.
The dispute revolves around the inheritance of Nawab Hamidullah Khan’s personal property, which was formalized in 1962 when the Indian government issued a certificate naming Sajida Sultan as the sole inheritor after her sister Abida migrated to Pakistan. The property subsequently passed to Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and then to his descendants, including Saif Ali Khan. Other heirs, including Begum Suraiya Rashid and Nawab Mehr Taj Sajida Sultan, have challenged the division, arguing it was inconsistent with Muslim Personal Law. The High Court’s order also referenced the 1949 Instrument of Accession that merged Bhopal with India, affirming the Nawab’s personal property rights and succession under the Bhopal Succession to the Throne Act, 1947.
