A local court in Bhopal has delivered a significant verdict in a long-running land dispute, ruling in favour of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, his mother Sharmila Tagore, sister Soha Ali Khan and other legal
heirs of Bhopal’s former royal family. The court dismissed a civil suit challenging ownership of a prime 16.62-acre land parcel in the Nayapura area of Huzur tehsil.
The disputed land was claimed by three residents of Nayapura, who argued that it had been gifted to their father, late lawyer Ahmed, by Bhopal’s last Nawab, Hamidullah Khan, in 1936. The plaintiffs contended that their family had served the Nawab during the princely state era and had received the land in return. To support their claim, they cited old revenue records, alleged continuous possession, construction of rooms, engagement of caretakers and permitting others to stay on portions of the land.
However, the court rejected these arguments, observing that the plaintiffs failed to establish the alleged gift through reliable and legally admissible evidence. The court noted that the land was recorded as the private property of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi in the 1949 Bhopal Merger Agreement executed with the government.
The court also took note of official records showing that, following a family partition, 12.62 acres of the land had been sold by the Pataudi family to a private builder in 1998, much before the present suit was instituted.
The verdict has come as a major relief to Saif Ali Khan and his family, effectively bringing an end to a prolonged legal battle over the property. Legal observers say the ruling could serve as an important precedent in similar disputes involving properties linked to Bhopal’s former royal family.
