Bhopal's heiress left for Pakistan, her sister's line took the palaces, and in 2025 a court reopened Saif Ali Khan's inheritance

Hamidullah Khan was the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal. His eldest daughter and heir, Abida Sultan, moved to Pakistan; LiveLaw dates this to 1950 and Dawn dates her abdication to 1948. He died on 4 February 1960. A Government of India letter of 10 January 1962 said his personal property passed to his second daughter, Sajida Sultan, under the rule that one heir takes the throne. Sajida married the Nawab of Pataudi. Her son was the cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and her grandchildren are the actor Saif Ali Khan and his sisters. In 1999 other relatives sued for partition under Muslim personal law, which divides an estate among many heirs. On 14 February 2000 the trial court dismissed the suits, relying on a 1997 Allahabad High Court ruling. The Supreme Court overruled that ruling in 2019. On 30 June 2025 Justice Sanjay Dwivedi of the Madhya Pradesh High Court set aside the 2000 decree and sent the suits back for retrial within a year. On 8 August 2025 the Supreme Court stayed his order on an appeal by heirs of the Nawab's elder brother. Separately, Abida Sultan's share is treated as enemy property because she became a Pakistani citizen. The Pataudi heirs' hold on the Bhopal estate depends on both cases.