The Supreme Court on Friday granted an interim stay on a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that had remanded a decades-old royal estate dispute, involving the family of actor Saif Ali Khan, back to a trial
court for fresh adjudication, news agency PTI reported.
The case concerns the inheritance of the estate of Bhopal’s last Nawab, Hamidullah Khan. A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Atul Chandurkar issued notice on a petition filed by Omar Faruq Ali and Raashid Ali, descendants of the Nawab’s elder brother, challenging the High Court’s June 30 order.
The dispute began in 1999 when extended family members of the Nawab, including the late Begum Suraiya Rashid and her children, sought partition and possession of the royal estate.
In 2000, a trial court ruled in favor of the Nawab’s daughter, Sajida Sultan, and her legal heirs — including her son Mansoor Ali Khan (former India cricket captain), daughter-in-law Sharmila Tagore and grandchildren Saif Ali Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Saba Sultan. The court held the estate was not governed by Muslim Personal Law but devolved upon Sajida under constitutional provisions.
This judgment was based on a 1997 Allahabad High Court decision, which was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2019. Citing that, the Madhya Pradesh High Court set aside the 2000 trial court ruling but instead of applying the 2019 precedent, it ordered a fresh hearing.
Senior advocate Devadutt Kamat, appearing for the petitioners, said the high court remand order was contrary to the procedural norms outlined under the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), PTI reported.
The Supreme Court has now stayed the remand order and will hear the matter further, keeping alive the long-running legal battle over the Nawab’s estate.
Following the Nawab’s death in 1960, the Government of India issued a 1962 certificate recognising Sajida Sultan as both the ruler and rightful heir to the personal estate under Article 366(22) of the Constitution. The plaintiffs, however, contended the Nawab’s personal estate should be distributed among all legal heirs under Muslim Personal Law.
The respondents, including actor Saif Ali Khan and his family, argued succession followed the rule of primogeniture and Sajida Sultan had rightfully inherited both the royal title (Gaddi) and personal properties.
While overturning the trial court ruling, the high court remanded the case. The petitioners moved the top court seeking reversal of the remand order.
