New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday granted an interim stay on a June 30 Madhya Pradesh High Court order that had sent a decades-old property dispute over the royal estate of Bhopal’s last Nawab, Hamidullah Khan, back to the trial court for fresh consideration.
The Nawab was the great-grandfather of actor Saif Ali Khan.
Petition by Nawab’s Extended Family
A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Atul Chandurkar also issued notices on a plea filed by Omar Faruq Ali and Raashid Ali, descendants of the Nawab’s elder brother, challenging the High Court’s decision.
The case stems from a challenge to a February 14, 2000 trial court verdict that upheld the exclusive rights of Sajida Sultan (the Nawab’s daughter), her son Mansoor Ali Khan (former Indian cricket captain), and his heirs — Saif Ali Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Saba Sultan, and actress Sharmila Tagore — over the estate.
Dispute Dates Back to 1972
The High Court had set aside the trial court’s ruling, citing its reliance on a 1997 Allahabad High Court verdict later overturned by the Supreme Court in 2019. Instead of applying the 2019 precedent to decide the case, the High Court remanded it for re-evaluation.
The petitioners argued that with the original suits filed in 1972 and first appeals pending since 2000, a remand would “protract the trial” and amount to denial of justice.
Claims of Delay and Miscarriage of Justice
The appellants, represented by senior advocate Devadutt Kamat and others, said there was no requirement for additional evidence, and a “routine remand” in such circumstances would lead to a grave miscarriage of justice.
Parties Seeking Partition and Possession
The appeals were originally filed by other relatives of the Nawab, including the late Begum Suraiya Rashid and her children, as well as Nawabzadi Qamar Taj Rabia Sultan, seeking partition, possession, and settlement of the estate.
The Supreme Court’s interim stay halts further trial court proceedings until the matter is fully heard.