Why Pataudi properties are labelled as ‘enemy property’

Actor Saif Ali Khan, currently recovering from a recent stabbing incident at his residence, is now engaged in a legal dispute over his ancestral estate valued at Rs 15,000 crore after a recent decision from the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The court removed the 2015 stay on the Pataudi family’s opulent historical properties, advancing the government towards the potential acquisition of these assets under the Enemy Property Act of 1968.

The single bench, headed by Justice Vivek Agarwal, observed that a legal remedy is available under the modified Enemy Property Act of 2017. He instructed the parties concerned to submit a representation within 30 days.

Included in the ruling are several properties such as Saif’s childhood residence, Flag Staff House, Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Dar-Us-Salam, Habibi’s Bungalow, Ahmedabad Palace, Kohefiza Property, among others.

The court has been considering Saif Ali Khan’s appeal since 2015, when the Pataudi family approached it after the Custodian of Enemy Property Department classified the Bhopal Nawab’s belongings as state property. Importantly, Saif Ali Khan is the son of the late cricketer and Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan, and his mother, actress Sharmila Tagore. He is their firstborn and has siblings Saba Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan too.

According to the Enemy Property Act of 1968, properties abandoned in India by individuals who obtained Pakistani and Chinese citizenship are classified as “enemy properties.”

The Enemy Property Act was introduced in 1968, three years following the India-Pakistan War of 1965, to manage these properties and outline the custodian’s authority. The same procedure was carried out for assets abandoned by individuals who went to China following the 1962 Sino-Indian war (which started on 20th October 1962).

The Enemy Property Act of 1968 characterized an ‘enemy’ as a nation (and its people) that engaged in external aggression against India (namely, Pakistan and China). Enemy property refers to any property currently owned, held, or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy individual, or an enemy company.

The Enemy Property Act enables the Centre to assert ownership over assets belonging to individuals who moved to Pakistan after Partition. The ownership of these assets was transferred to a governmental agency called the Custodian of Enemy Property in India.

This Enemy Property Act underwent amendments in 2017. As per the revised law, enemy property denotes any assets owned by, possessed, or administered for the benefit of an enemy, an enemy national, or an enemy corporation. A significant aspect of the 2017 modification was the elimination of heirs’ rights to inherit enemy property. By April 2024, there were approximately 12,611 properties designated as ‘enemy property’, with an estimated total value exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore, within the nation.

The issue was further complicated in 2016 when an ordinance from the Government of India stated that heirs would have no rights over enemy properties, intensifying the legal dispute over the Pataudi family’s assets. Despite Sajida Sultan being legally recognised as the rightful heir, the ongoing legal battle, including recent court rulings, has continued to fuel the controversy surrounding the family’s properties.

Notably, Saif Ali Khan, the current titular ‘Nawab of Bhopal’, owns the Pataudi Flag House located in Bhopal’s Kohefiza area, near the Ahmedabad Palace. Saif inherited the house after the death of his father, Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the last Nawab of Pataudi, in September 2011.