Battle of Soutens: Dimple goes to High Court against Anita Advani

Mumbai, Dec 1 : Former Bollywood actor Dimple Kapadia on Friday filed a petition in the Bombay High Court claiming that she was the legally wedded wife of the late rajesh Khanna till his death, and no other woman can claim a share over her husband's vast wealth by claiming a live-in relationship with him. Dimple's son-in-law actor Akshay Kumar has also filed an idential petition before the High Court. A magistrate's court in Bandra on Tuesday had suggested that Dimple should arrive at a settlement with Anita Advani, who was in a live-in relationship with Rajesh Khanna during his last years. Anita Advani has demanded access to the iconic Aashirvad bungalow on Carter Road, Bandra. Anita had also demanded a monthly maintenance of Rs 10 lakh from the late Rajesh Khanna's estate. She has also filed a case of domestic violence against Dimple, her two daughters Twinkle and Rinki,and son-in-law Akshay Kumar for evicting her from Aashirwad after Rajesh Khanna's death on July 18.Though Dimple is the legally wedded wife of Rajesh Khanna, she had been estranged from her husband for many hears and was living a separate life. Dimple and her daughters,who came to the help of Rajesh Khanna during his dying days, have now joined hands in their legal fight against Anita Advani. Twinkle and Rinki will soon file separate petitions in the high court rejecting Advani's claim to their late father's wealth and monthly maintenance. Rajesh Khanna's Aashirvad bungalow alone is worth more than Rs 200 crore. There are other apartments, commercial properties and plots of land in the late Rajesh Khanna's estate which could add up to a fortune of nearly Rs 500 crore. Dimple and Akshay's petitions mention that Anit Advani in her petition has herself stated that she was thrown out of Aashirvad by Rajesh Khanna several times and she could have filed a ase of domestic violence then. The fact that she chose to move court nearly three months after Khannas death shows that her only intention was to stake claim on the property. Replying to Anita Advani's claim before the magistrate's court that Aashirwad was in disrepair for many years and that it was repaired and refurbished only on her insistence, the twin petitions claim it only demonstrates that Advani and Khanna were friends.The petitions have been mentioned for urgent hearing by Dimple and Akshay's advocate Girish Kulkarni and are likely to be heard on Monday by Justice K U Chandiwal.To Anita's charge that Rajesh Khanna's thumb impression on a will was taken by Akshay and Twinkle when he was medically unfit to understand what he was doing, the petitions say that the will has been duly probated. While Anita has claimed that she was in a domestic relationship with Khanna in a shared household, the petitions mention a letter she wrote to Khanna just two days before his death in which she did not mention anythig about the relationship. In the letter,the petitions claim, Anita Advani admitted that Khanna had only pursued her to be his girlfriend. Dimple and Akshay have described the magistrate court's suggestion that they arrive at settlement with Advani as unreasonable and sought a stay on proceedings before the Bandra court till the high court decides on their petitions.Advanis lawyer, advocate Manohar Shetty, said: "We will check and will fight tooth and nail and take this case to its logical conclusion."