Bollywood’s veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan is facing legal troubles over his iconic bungalow, ‘Jalsa’, located in Juhu, Mumbai. The actor’s sister-in-law, who is married to his brother, Ajitabh Bachchan, has filed a complaint challenging a 1993 gift deed that transferred ownership of the house to Amitabh’s wife, Jaya Bachchan.
The complaint was filed in the office of the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies in Andheri. In the complaint, Ramola reportedly claimed that the bungalow was originally registered in her name and that the gift deed was not properly executed. She claimed that the gift deed was prepared on plain paper without the payment of stamp duty at the time. She also claimed that the gift deed did not carry the signatures of witnesses as required. Additionally, she also questioned the gift deed’s subsequent registration and regularisation under the Maharashtra government’s Abhay Yojana scheme.
The proceedings on the complaint have reportedly been initiated. Reports suggest that Ramola made several complaints to the registration authorities over the past seven months. Deputy Registrar Faiyaz Mulani reportedly confirmed that the authorities had received Ramola’s complaint and initiated a hearing. The authorities have directed the parties to submit their responses.
Her claim arose from certain discrepancies in the official records relating to the house. The official records maintained by Kapol Housing Society name Jaya Bachchan as the owner of the house, but the Maharashtra government’s Property Card carried Ramola’s name.
Jaya Bachchan’s 2018 Rajya Sabha election affidavit lists the bungalow as her property. The affidavit lists Jalsa under residential buildings and states January 23, 2006, as its purchase date. Besides, a Declaration Deed regarding the house was presented before the Sub-Registrar in January 2006. Some recent attempts to add Jaya Bachchan’s name in place of Ramola Bachchan’s name in the records reportedly triggered the fresh action.
The bungalow is not just any other house; it has acquired an identity of its own due to the actor’s association with it. Every Sunday, the hundreds of Amitabh Bachchan’s fans flock to Jalsa to get a glimpse of the actor in his ritualistic ‘Sunday Darshan’. No statement has yet been made by Amitabh Bachchan’s side on the matter.
