Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan finds herself in legal trouble after buying farmland in Thal village, Alibaug, Maharashtra. She bought about 1.5 acres of agricultural land, including a constructed area of more than 2200 square feet, for ₹12.91 crore in June 2023. The property was registered on June 1, and she paid about ₹77 lakh as stamp duty. The transaction was entered into under Déjà Vu Farm Private Limited, a firm in which her aunt Namita Chhibber and grandmother Savita Chhibber are directors. The property was purchased from three sisters, Anjali, Rekha, and Priya Khot, who had inherited it from their parents.
Though the transaction seemingly appeared to be legally done, suspicions soon arose due to the rigid laws applicable to agricultural land in Maharashtra. The state permits only those legally accepted as farmers to purchase such land, or non-farmers who have received express sanction from the district collector. It has been reported that no such sanction had been received prior to Suhana finishing the purchase. Compounding the controversy, the land itself had initially been granted to the sellers’ family in 1968 under an express ban on sale or mortgage without government consent. This is according to local attorney Vivekanand Thakur, who claims that this is a violation of the binding conditions, and thus the sale and purchase are in violation of the state land transfer laws.
The controversy goes deeper still because the government documents describe Suhana as an “agriculturist,” a designation which allows her to purchase agricultural land under law. Critics have noted how this loophole is frequently employed by the affluent to purchase agricultural land, frequently by procuring farmer certificates in other states like Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh. The practice has been highly criticized for benefiting elite buyers at the cost of others, leaving common citizens outside who are not from farming backgrounds.
The issue has now blown into an official inquiry, with officials questioning if the transaction can be reversed and if legal consequences can follow. The focus of the inquiry is on whether Suhana’s farmer status was legitimate and if the required permissions were circumvented deliberately. Suhana and her family have not made any official statements regarding the issue, and representatives close to the Khans have been mum.
Aside from Suhana’s own circumstances, the case has again set off an umbrella debate on land ownership in Maharashtra and non-agricultural use of agriculture plots. The argument goes that while the legislation exists to safeguard farmland and ensure agricultural livelihood, loopholes and lack of enforcement have enabled the rich to take advantage of the system. That a celebrity name is now attached to such a case has put the issues back in the limelight.
