Bombay HC Dismisses Anita Advani's Plea for Marriage Recognition with Rajesh Khanna

The Bombay High Court, on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, dismissed an appeal filed by actor Anita Advani, who sought legal recognition of her relationship with late Bollywood superstar Rajesh Khanna as a marriage. This significant ruling was delivered by a single-judge bench of Justice Sharmila Deshmukh. Advani's appeal challenged a 2017 order issued by a Civil Court in Dindoshi, Mumbai, which had initially rejected her civil suit on technical grounds. The latest decision by the High Court upholds the earlier verdict, bringing another chapter of a prolonged legal dispute to a close. A detailed copy of the judgment is currently awaited. Anita Advani claimed to have been in a 'live-in relationship' with Rajesh Khanna for approximately a decade, from 2004 until his demise in 2012. She further asserted that Khanna had 'secretly' married her by applying sindoor (vermilion) on her head, although this claim was consistently denied by Khanna's legally wedded wife, Dimple Kapadia, and their daughters, Twinkle Khanna and Rinke Khanna, along with son-in-law Akshay Kumar. The Kapadia family has steadfastly opposed Advani's assertions of being married to Khanna or even being recognized as his 'live-in' partner. The legal saga between Advani and Rajesh Khanna's family began shortly after the superstar's death on July 18, 2012. Advani had previously lodged a criminal complaint under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, against Dimple Kapadia, Twinkle Khanna, and Akshay Kumar. In this complaint, she claimed that she was forcefully evicted from Khanna's iconic 'Aashirwad' bungalow following his passing and sought monthly maintenance and a flat. However, a crucial development occurred in 2015 when another bench of the Bombay High Court quashed the domestic violence proceedings against Kapadia and her family. The court, at that time, made a significant finding that Advani's relationship with Rajesh Khanna did not qualify as one 'in the nature of marriage' under the Domestic Violence Act. It further noted that all family members of Khanna could not be included in the case under the DVA, as Advani had never lived with them. Dimple Kapadia's counsel had argued that Advani's relationship with Khanna could, at best, be described as 'adulterous' and that a woman in a live-in relationship with a married man could not claim relief under the DV Act. Despite the High Court's 2015 decision, Anita Advani pursued the matter further. In August 2015, the Supreme Court issued a notice to Dimple Kapadia on Advani's petition, seeking the restoration of her domestic violence complaint. However, the latest ruling from the Bombay High Court confirms the legal stance against recognizing Advani's relationship with Khanna as a marriage. It is important to note that Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia were married in 1973. While they had separated within a decade and lived apart for many years until Khanna's death, their marriage was never legally dissolved. This marital status was a key factor in the legal arguments presented by Khanna's family, who contended that as the legally wedded wife, Dimple Kapadia was the rightful heir, and no other woman could claim a share in his estate. The current dismissal of Advani's appeal reinforces the legal position that despite her claims of a long-term live-in relationship and even a private ceremony, her bond with Rajesh Khanna did not meet the legal criteria to be recognized as a marriage. This ongoing legal battle has garnered significant media attention due to the celebrity status of the individuals involved and its implications for understanding live-in relationships and inheritance rights in India.

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