Presided over by Justice Sharmila Deshmukh, the court upheld a previous 2017 ruling by a civil court in Dindoshi, Mumbai, which had initially rejected Advani’s suit on technical grounds. The recent High Court verdict reinforces the earlier decision, declaring that her claims do not hold the necessary legal grounding to be officially recognized as a marriage.
The Core of the Dispute
For over a decade, the exact nature of Anita Advani’s relationship with the iconic actor has been a subject of intense public and legal scrutiny. Following Khanna’s passing in 2012, Advani stepped forward with claims that she had shared a live-in relationship with the actor for more than ten years. Going a step further, she argued in court that Khanna had unofficially "married" her by applying sindoor (vermilion) on her forehead, a traditional Hindu symbol of matrimony.However, these assertions have been fiercely and consistently challenged by Rajesh Khanna’s legal heirs. His wife, veteran actor Dimple Kapadia, along with their daughter Twinkle Khanna and son-in-law Akshay Kumar, have vehemently opposed Advani’s claims. During the hearings, the family maintained that Advani was never married to the actor, nor did their dynamic qualify as a legally recognized live-in partnership.
A History of Legal Roadblocks
This recent dismissal is not the first time Advani has faced a setback regarding her association with the late superstar. Shortly after Khanna's death, Advani alleged that she was abruptly and forcibly evicted from 'Aashirwad', Khanna's famous Carter Road bungalow in Mumbai.In response to the alleged eviction, she invoked the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005, filing a criminal case against Kapadia, Twinkle Khanna, and Akshay Kumar in 2012. That specific legal route hit a dead end in 2015 when a different bench of the Bombay High Court quashed the proceedings. At the time, the court explicitly noted that her association with the actor did not meet the legal criteria of a "relationship in the nature of marriage," which is a prerequisite for relief under the Domestic Violence Act.
Closing a Contentious Chapter
Rajesh Khanna, widely celebrated as Hindi cinema’s first superstar, tied the knot with Dimple Kapadia in 1973. While they lived separately in his later years, the couple never legally divorced.With this latest High Court ruling, Advani’s prolonged attempt to secure marital rights and legal recognition has once again been denied, effectively putting an end to a contentious dispute that has lingered over the late actor's legacy. A detailed, formal order regarding the dismissal is currently awaited.
