Saif Ali Khan Loses Royal Bhopal Properties After Court Reverses Inheritance Over Pakistan Connection
An Indian court has changed a decision that was made 25 years ago. That old decision had allowed Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan’s family to keep royal properties in Bhopal. Now, the court says the properties should belong to the Indian government. The value of the land and buildings is around INR150 billion, or Rs496 billion in Pakistani rupees. The court also said that a new trial should be started.
Many people in Pakistan have heard stories from their grandparents or great-grandparents about the homes and lands they left behind when they moved to Pakistan during Partition. Sometimes we think about going back and getting them. But it is not that easy. There is a law in India called the Enemy Property Act. This law says the Indian government can take land or houses from people who moved to Pakistan. Some families are now trying to get those properties back using Islamic inheritance rules, also known as Shariat Law.
The royal family of Bhopal was once led by Nawab Hamidullah Khan. He had three daughters—Abida Sultan, Sajida Sultan, and Rabia Sultan. Abida was meant to be the next ruler. But in 1950, she moved to Pakistan, which was ten years before her father passed away. Since she left India, Sajida was named the new heir while her father was still alive. When he died, the Indian government gave Sajida the legal right to the property on January 12, 1962.
A lawyer named Jagdish Chavan, who has worked with Saif Ali Khan’s family, said something different. He told The Print, “According to the Succession Act, Abida should’ve inherited the estate and due to her relocation to Pakistan, it should’ve simply become ‘enemy property’ and gone to the government.” He also said that maybe political friendship played a role. Sajida was married to Iftikhar Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi, and he was friends with India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
At first, no one really fought about it. The rest of the Nawab’s family, including the children of his third daughter and his elder brother, were okay with the decision. They were still getting money from the Indian government called a “privy purse.” It was a kind of payment given to royal families after their kingdoms joined India. But in 1971, when Indira Gandhi ended royal titles and these payments, other family members started asking for their share of the property under Muslim Personal Law.
In the year 2000, a court in Bhopal said that Sajida would stay the legal heir. This decision was based on a similar case called the State of Rampur Case. But recently, that old case was overruled. Because of that, the Bhopal decision from 2000 has also been cancelled. Now, the land and buildings must be divided according to Shariat Law.
On June 30, 2025, the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that a new trial should happen. Until then, the government has taken back control of the properties from Saif Ali Khan’s family. Lawyer Chavan thinks Saif will now get only “two to three per cent of the property.”
Even though this is mostly about Indian law, people in Pakistan started talking about it too. Many remembered Shahryar Khan, who was Abida’s son. He had been a foreign secretary and chairman of the PCB. He gave up his rights to the properties in India. Some people got confused between the Indian properties and Bhopal House, which is in Clifton, Karachi. That house was bought by the Nawab of Bhopal in July 1947. He wrote in a letter to Quaid-i-Azam that he wanted to move to Karachi, but he never did.
Later, a fight began between Shahryar Khan and the Pakistani government over who owned Bhopal House in Karachi. Abida did not ask for the property until 32 years after her father died. In the meantime, the house was used by Pakistan’s Foreign Office and an intelligence agency. As of 2022, the fight over Bhopal House in Karachi was still not solved.
In short, Bhopal House in Karachi and the royal properties in Bhopal, India, are two very different things. They are far away from each other, and Pakistan has no real connection to the court’s new decision. The only link is that Saif Ali Khan’s great aunt moved to Pakistan many years ago.
Many people in Pakistan have heard stories from their grandparents or great-grandparents about the homes and lands they left behind when they moved to Pakistan during Partition. Sometimes we think about going back and getting them. But it is not that easy. There is a law in India called the Enemy Property Act. This law says the Indian government can take land or houses from people who moved to Pakistan. Some families are now trying to get those properties back using Islamic inheritance rules, also known as Shariat Law.
The royal family of Bhopal was once led by Nawab Hamidullah Khan. He had three daughters—Abida Sultan, Sajida Sultan, and Rabia Sultan. Abida was meant to be the next ruler. But in 1950, she moved to Pakistan, which was ten years before her father passed away. Since she left India, Sajida was named the new heir while her father was still alive. When he died, the Indian government gave Sajida the legal right to the property on January 12, 1962.
A lawyer named Jagdish Chavan, who has worked with Saif Ali Khan’s family, said something different. He told The Print, “According to the Succession Act, Abida should’ve inherited the estate and due to her relocation to Pakistan, it should’ve simply become ‘enemy property’ and gone to the government.” He also said that maybe political friendship played a role. Sajida was married to Iftikhar Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi, and he was friends with India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
At first, no one really fought about it. The rest of the Nawab’s family, including the children of his third daughter and his elder brother, were okay with the decision. They were still getting money from the Indian government called a “privy purse.” It was a kind of payment given to royal families after their kingdoms joined India. But in 1971, when Indira Gandhi ended royal titles and these payments, other family members started asking for their share of the property under Muslim Personal Law.
In the year 2000, a court in Bhopal said that Sajida would stay the legal heir. This decision was based on a similar case called the State of Rampur Case. But recently, that old case was overruled. Because of that, the Bhopal decision from 2000 has also been cancelled. Now, the land and buildings must be divided according to Shariat Law.
On June 30, 2025, the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that a new trial should happen. Until then, the government has taken back control of the properties from Saif Ali Khan’s family. Lawyer Chavan thinks Saif will now get only “two to three per cent of the property.”
Even though this is mostly about Indian law, people in Pakistan started talking about it too. Many remembered Shahryar Khan, who was Abida’s son. He had been a foreign secretary and chairman of the PCB. He gave up his rights to the properties in India. Some people got confused between the Indian properties and Bhopal House, which is in Clifton, Karachi. That house was bought by the Nawab of Bhopal in July 1947. He wrote in a letter to Quaid-i-Azam that he wanted to move to Karachi, but he never did.
Later, a fight began between Shahryar Khan and the Pakistani government over who owned Bhopal House in Karachi. Abida did not ask for the property until 32 years after her father died. In the meantime, the house was used by Pakistan’s Foreign Office and an intelligence agency. As of 2022, the fight over Bhopal House in Karachi was still not solved.
In short, Bhopal House in Karachi and the royal properties in Bhopal, India, are two very different things. They are far away from each other, and Pakistan has no real connection to the court’s new decision. The only link is that Saif Ali Khan’s great aunt moved to Pakistan many years ago.
