The Bombay High Court has officially put to rest a long-standing legal battle, dismissing an appeal filed by actor Anita Advani that sought recognition of her relationship with the late Bollywood icon Rajesh Khanna as a marriage.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, Justice Sharmila Deshmukh upheld a 2017 civil court ruling, stating that Advani’s claims lacked the necessary legal foundation. Advani, who claimed to have been in an eight-year relationship with the superstar until his death in 2012, had argued that her presence at his iconic Bandra residence, Ashirwad, and her role in his caregiving should be legally recognized.
Khanna’s family including his wife Dimple Kapadia, daughter Twinkle Khanna, and son-in-law Akshay Kumar firmly opposed the plea throughout the proceedings.
They maintained that Advani was never married to the actor nor in a legally valid partnership. The court’s decision highlights a unique cultural phenomenon of the 1970s and 80s film industry, where high-profile couples like Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, Gulzar and Raakhee, and Randhir and Babita Kapoor remained legally married for decades despite long-term separations.