MUMBAI: The children of the late legendary classical vocalist Bhimsen Joshi are locked in a legal battle with his eldest son Raghvendra challenging his will.
Raghvendra (69), the son of Joshi's first wife Sunanda, has claimed that his father was 86 years old and not of sound mind due to illness and hospitalisation for brain tumour for over a month before he purportedly signed his will on September 22, 2008.
On Raghvandra's plea, the Pune civil court restrained Joshi's two sons and the daughter from his second wife, Vatsala, from selling or renting the bungalow and two flats in Pune, bequeathed to them in the will.
The latter -- the children from the second wife – have challenged this order in the Bombay High Court. Justice K K Tated yesterday posted the matter for hearing on August 11.
Raghvendra, his two brothers and a sister (all children from the first wife) claim that their father died intestate (without making a will) and hence they have an equal right on the family property.
Joshi died on January 24, 2011. Joshi could not have made the disputed will because he was of unsound mind at the time, they say.
On the other hand, their step-siblings claim that Joshi had given interviews to the media after winning the Bharat Ratna award in 2009, which shows that he was mentally sound; further, his will had been witnessed and signed by two people - a journalist and Joshi's physician.
The property in question is worth about Rs 10 crore.