Rani Mukerji: Not too many legal options

Mumbai, Jan. 3: Rani Mukerji will have to pay nearly Rs 94 lakh in fines if she wants to hold on to the Shirdi plot she bought from a farmer who did not legally own the land.

The subdivisional magistrate of Ahmednagar today confiscated the 16.5-cottah plot, rejecting the actress’s petition to get it registered in father Ram Mukerji’s name.

The land ceiling act says Rani must pay 75 per cent of the plot’s market value to the state government if she wants the land, valued at Rs 1.25 crore. This means she has to shell out Rs 93.75 lakh.

The actress had bought the plot in 2005 in her father’s name to build a holiday retreat. She had paid farmer Sampat More Rs 33 lakh for the land and spent another Rs 1.32 lakh on stamp duty for registration.

But when she approached the Shirdi tehsildar’s office for registration, she was told More was not the rightful owner.

The land is a state government plot that had been leased to a farmer named Krishsagar, who had sought the government’s permission to start a brick kiln on the site, Shirdi tehsildar Yashwant Mane said.

“When property prices began skyrocketing, he (illegally) sold the land in bits and pieces. The buyers, including More, didn’t register their names on the revenue records,” Manne said.

“Rani bought the land from More without verifying this. Also, she overlooked the fact that tenure land (farmland leased by the government) can be bought only with the authorities’ permission, which she didn’t have,” the tehsildar said.

Lawyers said Rani did not have too many legal options left.

“She can sue the farmer who sold her the land and recover the money from him, or she can pay the fine and get the land transferred in her name,” said high court lawyer Amit Kharkhanis.

Rani, shooting in Paris for a film by Kunal Kohli in which she plays a fairy, was not available for comment.