The troubles of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan do not seem to end anytime soon. While the actor was discharged from hospital after treatment for injuries sustained in the knife attack during an alleged robbery attempt at his house in Mumbai, his ancestral properties worth Rs 15000 crore in Bhopal belonging to his family may soon be taken over by the Central government.
This comes after the Madhya Pradesh High Court lifted the stay on the ancestral properties of the Pataudi family which means that the Central government may seize control of these properties under the Enemy Property Act 1968. This act allowed the government to take over the properties of those who migrated to Pakistan after partition in 1947.
The properties that may come under government control include the Flag Staff House, where Saif Ali Khan spent his childhood, Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Dar-Us-Salam, Ahmedabad Palace, Kohefiza Property, and others.
On 13th December 2024, a single bench of the High Court directed the Pataudi family to bring their case to the appellate authorities within 30 days. However, it remains unclear whether the family had done so. “it is directed that if representation is filed within thirty days from today, then the appellate authority shall not advert to the aspect of limitation and shall deal with the appeal on its own merits. In the above terms, the petitions stand disposed of,” Justice Vivek Agarwal said.
Reports say that since the situation was unclear, the Bhopal district administration declined to comment in this regard. However, Bhopal Collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh stated that any action will be taken only when there is clarity on the High Court order.
Notably, Nawab Hamidullah Khan, the last king of Bhopal, had two daughters: Abida Sultan and Sajida Sultan. According to custom, the eldest child, Abida Sultan, inherited the property. However, Abida moved to Pakistan in 1950, and following her father’s death, her sister Sajida Sultan, who stayed in India, became the legal owner.
Sajida Sultan, Saif Ali Khan’s grandmother, inherited the land after Abida left. The Enemy Property Act was passed in India in 1968, and the ownership of Nawab’s property has been a source of contention since the Custodian of Enemy Property for India designated it as enemy property in 2014.
Two years later, the Modi government’s ordinance said that heirs would have no rights over “enemy properties” which also included those claimed by the Pataudi family.
In the year 2019, the court recognised Sajida Sultan as the legitimate successor, and her grandson, Saif Ali Khan, inherited a portion of the property. However, since Abida Sultan migrated to Pakistan, the Central government claimed the assets as enemy property.
Congress’s benevolence towards “enemies” of India to the Modi government’s “seize and auction” action
Interestingly, back in 2016, the Congress party notorious for its Muslim appeasement politics vehemently opposed the Modi government when it tried to make amendments to the Enemy Property Act even at the cost of jeopardising national security.
In December 2016, the President of India re-promulgated the Enemy Property Act Ordinance for the 5th time. While the Modi government’s bill to amend the Act was passed in Lok Sabha, it faced immense opposition, particularly from Congress and Samajwadi Party. A PIL was also filed by Congress leader Hussain Dalwai in the Supreme Court in this regard, however, the Supreme Court refused to entertain the plea.
As the Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI), there are about 13,000 enemy properties in India including those which belong to people who migrated to Pakistan and China. These properties are worth thousands of crores. However, given the lack of imperative to amend the Act to unlock its full potential and strict implementation, these properties fell into the hands of either the heirs of those who moved to enemy countries at the time of conflict or in the hands of dubious elements. Meanwhile, Pakistan enacted the Enemy Property Act there and in 1949, Pakistan promulgated the Evacuee Property Act, which stated that the property of a person even though he was a Pakistani citizen, who had a distant relative who had migrated to India would have their property marked as “evacuee property”.
OpIndia earlier reported about how Bangladesh enacted the Enemy Property Act to arbitrarily declare Bengali Hindus as “enemies” and confiscate their properties. Not only Pakistan and Bangladesh but even China has disposed of enemy properties over the years.
While Congress’s Muslim appeasement politics is no hidden secret, the party gave a ticket to Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, the son of Raja of Mahmudabad who migrated to Pakistan after partition. Raja of Mahmudabad was treasurer of the Muslim League and a close ally of Mohammad Ali Jinnah who was responsible for India’s bloodied partition.
In 1985 and 1989, Congress gave a ticket to the Raja’s son Amir in state assembly elections. Even the Supreme Court ruled in Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan’s favour and conceded enemy property to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore. In this case, Amir was represented by Congress leader and advocate Salman Khurshid. Later, Congress and other ‘secular’ party leaders made sure that the UPA government did not even table the Enemy Property Act ordinance before the parliament.
It was only after the Modi government brought the amendment of Enemy Property Act in 2017, which ensured that the heirs of those who migrated to Pakistan and China during Partition and afterwards will have no claim over the properties left behind in India, that enemy properties were taken over by the government on large scale and sold. This amendment nullified the 2005 Supreme Court order in favour of Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan. With this amendment, any transfer of enemy property by people or entities declared as enemies post-1968 war, was declared void.
Back in 2018, the Modi government decided to auction off over 9,400 ‘enemy properties’ worth over Rs. 1 lakh crore. These properties belong to those who have left for Pakistan and China and took the citizenship of these countries. In 2018, OpIndia reported that the highest number of these properties were located in Uttar Pradesh numbering 4,991, followed by West Bengal with 2,735. Of the total properties, about 9,280 belong to Pakistani nationals and some 126 belonged to the Chinese. By 2023, Indian government earned around Rs 3400 crore by selling movable assets such as shares and gold assets marked as enemy property.
