Saif Ali Khan May Possibly Lose Ancestral Property To Government, More Details

Recently, news has come out that the Madhya Pradesh High Court recently lifted a stay on certain assets and properties that were protected since 2015. Now, these properties are possibly up for investigation and acquisition by the government under the Enemy Property Act. This lift on the stay on those properties has come due to the migration of Abida Sultan to Pakistan.

The Enemy Property Act states that the government is able to repossess any property or asset which belonged to individuals that migrated to Pakistan after the Partition event in our history. In this particular case, the government is stating that due to the shifting of Abida Sultan, the eldest daughter of the last ruling Nawab of the princely state of Bhopal, Hamidullah Khan. Abida Sultan migrated to Pakistan all the way back in 1950.

The Nawab's second daughter, Sajida Sultan stayed in India and legally took the inherited properties from her sister, but the government now argues that the initial migration of the eldest sister was enough to classify the property as belonging to the enemy and therefore, be available for reacquisition. These assets and properties initially owned by Nawab Hamidullah Khan add up to anywhere around Rs. 15,000 crore.

The individuals that this ruling really affects are the current descendants of the royal family such as Saif Ali Khan and Sharmila Tagore, who have contested for the ownership of these properties for a long time. Under the amended Enemy Property Act, 2017, it has been stated as per reports that, "If a representation is filed within 30 days from today, the appellate authority shall not advert to the aspect of limitation and shall deal with the appeal on its own merits."

Bhopal Collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh plans to conduct a review of the ownership of these properties, and there is a high likelihood that Saif Ali Khan and others will challenge this ruling as well. There is also great concern for those that have been living on those properties all this time, as there are around 1.5 lakh residents in those areas and depending on the final decision made by the courts, many of them may not be able to stay there any longer.