The wrought-iron gates of Jalsa draw thousands of film devotees every Sunday. Yet behind that fabled Juhu facade, a bitter intra-family ownership battle has landed straight on the desk of civic regulators.
Ramola Bachchan, wife of Amitabh Bachchan's younger brother Ajitabh Bachchan, has formally contested the ownership of the prime Mumbai residence. Her target is a 1993 gift deed that transferred the bungalow into the hands of actor-parliamentarian Jaya Bachchan. Ramola claims the transaction happened entirely behind her back. For seven months, she pressed her case through a barrage of petitions. Now, the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies in Andheri has opened formal proceedings.
A paper trail conflict exposed the rift. On the ledgers of the Kapol Housing Society, Jaya Bachchan stands recorded as the rightful owner of Jalsa. But the Maharashtra government's official Property Card tells a conflicting tale. That state ledger still carries Ramola's name.
Trouble erupted when steps were initiated to strike Ramola's name from the government property card and substitute Jaya's. Ramola pushed back immediately. She maintains that the coastal parcel was originally registered under her name before the contested 1993 deed stripped her title away.
Beyond the lack of consent, Ramola's complaint attacks the legal integrity of the document itself. She alleges that the 1993 gift deed was drawn up on plain paper, skipped mandatory stamp duty payments at the time of execution, and lacked witness signatures. Later, parties sought to regularise the paperwork under Maharashtra's Abhay Yojana amnesty scheme—a retrospective patch that Ramola now openly challenges before regulatory authorities.
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Disputed Asset | Bungalow 'Jalsa', Juhu, Mumbai | Subject of registrar inquiry | |||
| Opposing Claimant | Ramola Bachchan (w/o Ajitabh Bachchan) | Original registrant on state card | |||
| Current Society Beneficiary | Jaya Bachchan | Listed on Kapol Housing Society rolls | |||
| Disputed Instrument | 1993 Gift Deed | Challenged over plain paper & witness defects | |||
| State Tax Regularisation | Maharashtra Abhay Yojana Scheme | Validity contested by complainant | |||
| Adjudicating Authority | Deputy Registrar, Co-op Societies, Andheri |
Civic authorities confirmed that the challenge has crossed the threshold into an active administrative probe.
The authorities have received the complaint and initiated a hearing. The parties concerned have been asked to submit their responses.
Faiyaz Mulani, Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies
Regulators have not reached a final finding on the competing ownership claims or the legal standing of the deed.
The Bachchan camp has kept its guard up. Amitabh Bachchan did not respond to queries regarding the dispute, while Jaya Bachchan could not be reached. Abhishek Bachchan's office shut down questions on the matter, dismissing the challenge as an internal family affair.
Both camps must now lay their original paperwork before Deputy Registrar Mulani in Andheri, where the legality of a three-decade-old signature will determine who truly holds title to Hindi cinema's most famous address.
| Active hearing initiated |