Give copy of Rajesh Khanna's will to his former companion Anita Advani: Bombay High Court

31 July 2014 - 8:06pm IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: PTI

The Bombay High Court has asked Twinkle Khanna, daughter of the late Bollywood superstar Rajesh Khanna, to give a copy of probate proceedings and the probated will of her father to his former companion Anita Advani.

Justice RD Dhanuka, who yesterday allowed Advani to secure a copy of the will, also declined to stay his order for enabling an appeal. The late actor's two daughters, Twinkle and Rinkie, who are his legal heirs, had earlier moved the High Court to get his will probated (validated). Twinkle is married to actor Akshay Kumar.

Advani, who claims to have lived in with Khanna at his iconic suburban bungalow Ashirwad during the last two years of his life and looked after him, has challenged genuineness of the will, saying that he was not in the position to sign it at the time due to ill-health. Advani, through her lawyer Manohar Shetty, has sought revocation of probate alleging that the will has been forged.

Senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas, who appeared for Twinkle, opposed Advani's plea seeking copy of the will, saying that she was neither a family member nor an heir.

However, the court held that no harm would be caused to Khanna's legal heirs if a copy was given to Advani. The heirs would get a fair chance to defend themselves before a decision is taken on Advani's plea against the probate, the judge said. Khanna, a yesteryear superstar, died on July 18, 2012.

The will names his daughters as the legal heirs; Twinkle has been also appointed as executor of the will. Some media reports had said recently that Khanna's bungalow had been sold off to a city-based businessman.

Advani's lawyer said she would be filing a petition before the High Court claiming a share in the late actor's estate, including the bungalow.