SC stays MP HC order in Saif Ali Khan family property dispute

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday granted an interim stay on a Madhya Pradesh High Court order remanding a decades-old property dispute involving the royal estate of Bhopal’s last Nawab, Hamidullah Khan, to the trial court for fresh adjudication.

A bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Atul Chandurkar issued notice on a plea of Omar Faruq Ali and Raashid Ali, descendants of the elder brother of Nawab Hamidullah Khan, against the high court’s order of June 30.

The petitioners have challenged the high court’s decision to set aside a February 14, 2000, trial court judgment that upheld the exclusive rights of Nawab’s daughter Sajida Sultan, her son Mansoor Ali Khan (former India cricket captain), and their legal heirs, actor Saif Ali Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Saba Sultan, and veteran actress Sharmila Tagore, over the estate.

The high court said the trial court’s ruling was based on a 1997 Allahabad High Court verdict which was later overturned by the Supreme Court in 2019.

However, instead of applying the 2019 precedent and deciding the case conclusively, the high court remanded the matter for re-evaluation.

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).

The case has its origins in civil suits filed in 1999 by members of the Nawab’s extended family, including the late Begum Suraiya Rashid and her children, Mahabano (also deceased), Niloufar, Nadir, and Yawar, as well as Nawabzadi Qamar Taj Rabia Sultan, another daughter of the Nawab.

The plaintiffs sought partition, possession, and equitable settlement of the Nawab’s private estate.

The trial court ruled in favor of Sajida Sultan, stating the estate was not subject to Muslim Personal Law and had devolved upon her under constitutional provisions.

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.

They also pointed out the 1962 certificate was not formally contested but claimed it should not bar equitable partition.

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.