In December 1945, the historic Red Fort Trials placed Indian National Army officers—including Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Kumar Sehgal, and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon - on trial for treason under Section 121 of the IPC. The public attention and national outcry sparked intense debate on colonial injustice.

A lesser-known aspect of his life is his bond with Shah Rukh Khan’s mother, Lateef Fatima. Following a car accident in Delhi in the late 1940s, Shah Nawaz Khan happened to assist her family and built a close relationship - so much so that he is said to have adopted Fatima. Her marriage to Meer Taj Mohammed Khan, another freedom fighter, was solemnised at Shah Nawaz Khan’s residence.

Born in 1914 in what is now Pakistan, Shah Nawaz rose swiftly through the INA, commanding troops in Kohima, Imphal, and Mandalay under Subhas Chandra Bose's leadership . After the trials, he entered politics, serving multiple terms in Lok Sabha and leading the Shah Nawaz Committee to investigate Bose’s death .

In 1983, he passed away and was laid to rest with full state honours near the Red Fort—the very place where he was once branded a 'traitor' but later embraced as a freedom hero