The Bombay High Court dismissed Anita Advani’s appeal seeking legal recognition of her relationship with late actor Rajesh Khanna as a marriage. The Court upheld the earlier ruling and refused to grant her legal status as a wife under the law.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal filed by actor Anita Advani, who had asked the court to legally recognise her relationship with late superstar Rajesh Khanna as a marriage. The case has been part of a long legal dispute between Advani and Rajesh Khanna’s family members after the actor’s death in 2012.
Justice Sharmila Deshmukh dismissed the appeal filed by Advani, which challenged the earlier decision of a Dindoshi Civil Court. The Dindoshi court had dismissed her civil suit in 2017 on technical grounds, and after that decision, Advani filed an appeal before the Bombay High Court seeking relief and recognition of her relationship as a marriage.
The High Court heard arguments from the lawyers representing Anita Advani as well as from the legal team appearing for Dimple Kapadia, Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna. After hearing both sides, the High Court dismissed the appeal and refused to interfere with the earlier court’s decision.
While passing the order, the High Court stated, “First appeal is dismissed,”. A detailed copy of the judgment is still awaited and is expected to clarify the legal reasoning behind the decision.
The legal dispute between Anita Advani and the family of Rajesh Khanna has been ongoing for many years. The conflict began after Rajesh Khanna’s death, when Advani claimed that she was in a long-term relationship with him and that the relationship should be treated as a marriage. She also claimed rights related to his property and residence.
Advani had stated that after Rajesh Khanna’s death, she was evicted from his famous bungalow “Aashirwad”.
Following this, she filed multiple legal cases, including a criminal complaint alleging domestic violence against Dimple Kapadia, Twinkle Khanna and Akshay Kumar before a Magistrate court in Bandra.
However, in 2015, a coordinate bench of the Bombay High Court quashed the domestic violence proceedings against Dimple Kapadia, Twinkle Khanna and Akshay Kumar.
The High Court had then held that Advani’s relationship with Rajesh Khanna did not fall under the category of a relationship “in the nature of marriage” as defined under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Because of this legal finding, her domestic violence complaint was not maintainable under the law.
With the Bombay High Court now dismissing her appeal in the civil matter as well, this decision becomes another important development in the long-running legal battle related to the estate and personal relationship claims connected to late actor Rajesh Khanna.
The detailed judgment, once released, is expected to provide more clarity on the legal position regarding live-in relationships and claims seeking recognition of such relationships as marriage under Indian law.
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