Supreme Court Rejects Anita Advani-Rajesh Khanna Relationship As Marriage, Calls It 'Luxury Litigation'

On Thursday, the Supreme Court turned down former actor Anita Advani’s request to have her relationship with late actor Rajesh Khanna treated as a marriage. Justices MM Sundresh and Prasanna B Varale said the plea did not merit hearing and described it as “luxury litigation”.

What the court said during the hearing

The litigation has run for years. On April 1, the Bombay High Court dismissed Advani’s petition challenging a 2017 order of the Dindoshi sessions court in Mumbai.

After Khanna died in July 2012 at 69, the sessions court threw out her civil suit for the same relief. Advani wanted the courts to declare that her relationship with the actor was a marriage.

As per a report in PTI, the apex court refused to revisit the question on Thursday (October 29). Justices Sundresh and Varale said there was no basis to hear the plea and added, “This is luxury litigation”.

Anita Advani's relationship claims

Advani had challenged the Bombay High Court’s April 1 order dismissing her petition. Her counsel told the court, “… At the end of the day, my prayer in my civil suit which is for this declaration, is premised on some sense of dignity.” Advani said she is “seeking dignity”.

Advani said she stayed with Khanna through his final years until he died in 2012. She also said the two lived together for several years.

She also alleged that she was evicted in 2012 from Khanna’s bungalow, Aashirwad, Mumbai.

History of the dispute

The dispute then moved to a magistrate. In 2013, Advani filed a complaint under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 against Dimple Kapadia, her daughters and son-in-law, Akshay Kumar, seeking monthly maintenance and a three-bedroom flat in Bandra.

During an interview with Meri Saheli podcast, Advani said, “There was no secret about our relationship among his friends and mine. Initially, we tried to hide our relationship but when it became obvious, then it spread. We were not hiding our relationship.”

Earlier court findings

The Bombay High Court had already ruled against Advani in the domestic violence case. In 2015, it quashed her complaint and allowed pleas by Kapadia and her family seeking dismissal.

The high court found that Advani’s bond with Khanna did not amount to a marriage. It said that ruling meant she could not claim relief under the Domestic Violence Act.

The court held that Rajesh Khanna's family members could not be drawn into the proceedings because Advani never lived with them.

Who is Anita Advani?

Advani made her acting debut in 1978 with a small role as a dancer in Shalimar, which starred Dharmendra and Zeenat Aman. She also appeared in films such as Saazish, Daasi, Chorni, Aao Pyaar Karen and Bandh Honth.

Advani also participated in Salman Khan-hosted Bigg Boss in 2013.

She wrote a memoir, The Endearingly Wicked Ways of Rajesh Khanna, which is about the late actor's life beyond his public image, their bond and relationship.