In a remarkable decision around 12 years after the death of actress Parveen Babi, the Bombay High Court on Friday accepted her will, allowing diverting 80 per cent share from her assets to improve the lives of underprivileged women and kids.
The will, which was produced by her maternal uncle in 2005, was probated last week after relatives from her father's family dropped their claim that the document was fake.
The HC’s decision ended the long-running feud over an estate that includes a sea-facing, fourbedroom flat in Juhu, a haveli in Junagadh, jewellery, deposits of at least Rs 20 lakh in banks, and other investments.
According to the will, 80 per cent of Parveen's wealth should be used to form and run a trust, which will help underprivileged women and children from the Babi community of Junagadh, where she was born.
The Parveen Babi Trust will be headed by her 82-year-old uncle, Muradkhan Babi, who has been given 20 per cent of the estate. No other family member has been offered a share.
Ten per cent of the trust's funds will be channelled to St Xavier's College in Ahmedabad, where the star did her master's in English literature.
The total value of the estate is yet to be determined.
The High Court has asked the parties concerned to execute the directions in the will before December 23.
Parveen Babi, known for acting in ‘Deewar’, ‘Namak Halaal’, ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ and others, died on January 20, 2005.
