Why is India trying to seize Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan's $1.7B property?

It seems 2025 is off to a rough start for Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan. After being attacked by a burglar at his Mumbai home and undergoing surgery for the stab wounds, Khan has just returned home—only to face another blow: the Indian government is once again eyeing his family’s ancestral properties under the Enemy Property Act of 1968.

Khan’s father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, a former captain of the Indian cricket team, was the last official Nawab of Pataudi from 1952 to 1971 when the title was abolished with Indian constitutional amendment ending federal privileges and allowances to former royal families.

Khan owes his lineage to an aristocratic family that once ruled the former princely states of Pataudi and Bhopal in India.

However, following his father’s death in 2011, the Bollywood star is often described as the 10th titular Nawab of Pataudi. His ancestral properties are estimated to be worth 150 billion Indian rupees ($1.7 billion). His sister, Saba, a jewellery designer, serves as the caretaker of the Auqaf-e-Shahi, the religious endowment of the Bhopal royal family.

The Act

After the 1962 Indo-Chinese War and the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War, India introduced the Enemy Property Act, 1968, to regulate properties within the country owned by Pakistani nationals. Under this act, the Indian government is authorised to seize ownership of properties belonging to individuals or families classified as “enemies” who migrated to China or Pakistan during or after 1947. These properties are managed by a government entity known as the Custodian of Enemy Property for India.

Pakistan has a similar Enemy Property Law, enacted in 1969.

Additionally, the Defence of India Act, 1962, empowers the Indian government to seize properties and businesses belonging to individuals who acquired Pakistani nationality. Enemy properties are protected from attachment, seizure, or sale by court orders.

However, the government has the authority to return such properties to their original owners or heirs under specific conditions. Appeals can be made to the High Court within a stipulated timeframe.

The Indian government has also introduced further rules and guidelines, including the Enemy Property Rules, 2015.

Subsequent orders from 2018 to 2020, also outlined procedures for transferring, disposing of, or selling enemy properties. These measures ensure structured management and disposal of such assets under the Act’s provisions.

In 2017, amendments to the 1968 Act expanded the definition of “enemy subject” to include the enemy’s legal heirs and successors, regardless of their citizenship status. The amended law states that enemy property will remain vested in the Custodian even if the enemy subject or firm ceases to exist due to death, change of nationality, or winding up of business.

Currently, the Custodian holds 13,252 enemy properties valued at over a trillion Indian rupees or about $11.5 billion.

The Case

The dispute over Saif Ali Khan’s ancestral properties began on December 19, 2014, when the Custodian issued a notice claiming the Pataudi family’s properties in Bhopal were enemy property.

On February 25, 2015, these properties were officially declared enemy property. The Madhya Pradesh High Court subsequently granted the family a stay order.

While earlier rulings acknowledged Khan’s grandmother Sajida Sultan’s inheritance rights, the 2017 amendments explicitly ruled out any claims by heirs over enemy properties. In 2019, the court upheld Sajida Sultan as the legal heir.

However, on December 13, 2024, Justice Vivek Agarwal of the Madhya Pradesh High Court reignited the dispute by lifting the stay order.

The judge noted that the amended Enemy Property Act of 2017 provides a statutory remedy, instructing the concerned parties to file representations within 30 days to contest the government’s claim. Failure to do so could result in permanent vesting of the properties with the Custodian.

The Inheritance

At the time of India’s independence in 1947, Bhopal was a princely state ruled by Khan’s great-grandfather, Nawab Hamidullah Khan. His eldest daughter, Abida Sultan, migrated to Pakistan in 1950 and renounced her succession rights before leaving.

The second daughter, Sajida Sultan, who stayed in India and married Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, became the recognised legal heir.

On 13 January 1961, an official statement issued by India’s Press Information Bureau described Sajida as the “Ruler of Bhopal” following her father’s death, according to Scroll.

However, Abida Sultan’s migration to Pakistan has now become the government’s basis for claiming the properties as “enemy property”, despite her son Shahryar Khan, Pakistan’s former foreign secretary, renouncing his claim in favour of his aunt Sajida Sultan.

The current dispute centres on a sprawling palatial estate in Bhopal, including the Flag Staff House, Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Dar-Us-Salam, Habibi Bungalow, Ahmedabad Palace, and Koh-e-Fiza property, among others. As heir to the Pataudi estate, Khan risks losing these ancestral holdings as the government asserts its claim.

The Precedence

The Pataudi family’s predicament is not unique. The Raja of Mahmudabad, Amir Mohammad Khan, faced a similar battle spanning over 32 years.

His properties, confiscated after his father migrated to Pakistan, were eventually restored by a Supreme Court judgement in 2005. However, the 2017 amendments effectively nullified this precedent.

In recent years, properties linked to Pakistani leaders such as the country’s first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan and former president General Pervez Musharraf have also been declared enemy property.

Meanwhile, debates continue over the status of Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s South Court Mansion in Mumbai, with attempts to categorise it as “enemy property” under Indian law.

While many leaders of India’s ruling party have called for the house to be demolished, Pakistan claims that Jinnah’s Malabar Hill property belongs to them.

What to expect next

Resolving such cases can take years. As seen in the Raja of Mahmudabad’s case, proving inheritance rights under the Enemy Property Act is a complex process.

For the Pataudi family, this battle represents more than just a fight over property—it’s about safeguarding their legacy and preserving the heritage of one of India’s most prominent royal families.