A property dispute has emerged within actor Amitabh Bachchan’s family after his sister-in-law, Ramola Bachchan, has formally contested a 1993 gift deed concerning the famous Mumbai residence, Jalsaaccording to a media report.
Jalsa remains the venue for Bachchan’s regular interactions with fans, including his long-running ‘Sunday Darshan’.
Over seven months, Ramola submitted several complaints to Maharashtra’s registration and co-operative housing authorities, alleging that the document — which purportedly transferred the bungalow’s ownership to Jaya Bachchan — was drafted without her knowledge or consent.
The deed is now under scrutiny over the circumstances of its execution, its acceptance for stamp-duty regularisation under the Maharashtra government’s Abhay Yojana, and the process followed thereafter.
Although the deed was registered 13 years later in 2006, Jalsa’s official government Property Card still records Ramola as the owner. The legal challenge was reportedly triggered by recent moves to remove her name from the Property Card and substitute it with Jaya’s.
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Questions over deed validity
According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, citing the filings reviewed by it, Ramola has petitioned multiple officials, including the Inspector General of Registration and Controller of Stamps in Pune and the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies in Andheri. Her submissions allege that the 1993 instrument was prepared on plain paper rather than stamp paper, lacked initial stamp-duty payment, and contained no witness signatures, bearing only Jaya’s signature.
The complaints also raise objections regarding how a document featuring Ramola’s signature was utilised during the transfer process.
A major point of legal contention centres on how the plain-paper deed was later admitted for stamp-duty regularisation under Maharashtra’s Abhay Yojana amnesty scheme between 2004 and 2006. In a representation to Inspector General Ravindra Laxman Binwade, Ramola cited a March 4 Right to Information (RTI) response from the registration department confirming that plain-paper documents dating from 1980 onwards are ineligible under the scheme.
Additionally, an August 7 letter from Additional Controller of Stamps Sunil Mahindrakar noted that regularising stamp duty does not validate a document’s authenticity or signatures.
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Legal tussle ensues
The challenge also highlights conflicting records: while the co-operative housing society’s shares were previously shifted to Jaya using the contested paperwork, the state Property Card remained unaltered.
Deputy Registrar Faiyaz Mulani told the newspaper that a hearing is underway regarding the alleged improper transfer, with responses awaited from the concerned parties.
Originally named Mansa and previously owned by filmmaker NC Sippy, the bungalow was bought back and renovated by the Bachchans. According to the report, Amitabh did not reply to queries, Jaya was unreachable, and Ramola offered no comment, while Abhishek Bachchan’s spokesperson declined to comment, terming it a private family matter.