Adnan Sami’s ex-wife barges into his house

Adnan sami's ex-wife barges in his house with lawyer, creates mayhem, raises tempers.

MUMBAI: Recounting the events of Sunday afternoon, Adnan Sami Khan said, “It was around 12:30 pm. I was having brunch with my wife Roya when the doorbell rang insistently and there was also some uncivil pounding on the door. I won’t say I was surprised to see Sabah with her lawyer. She hadn’t done anything to make my life miserable for some time now. And I knew she must be restless. Anyway, there she was with her lawyer, asking … no demanding that I allow her to enter the house.”

“Now, either her lawyer is ill-informed or misinformed. Because my home has been confiscated by the government of India under Fema (Foreign Exchange Management Act) and she too has been barred from occupying any of part of my home.”

The soporific Sunday siesta mood was shattered as voices were raised and tempers began to rise. Khan refused to allow Sabah Galadari or the lawyer into the home.

“How could I allow them to enter? I mean, come on … don’t they understand the law? Her earlier claims over my property have been nullified by the Fema order. In fact, the Fema document clearly states her position vis-à-vis the property.

“At one point during our exchange in the corridor outside my home Sabah’s lawyer asked me if I was recording their conversation on my cellphone. Any lawyer who has ever been in a courtroom knows such recordings have no credence in a court of law. I feel sorry for Sabah. She’s clearly being ill-advised and misinformed,” said Khan. Apparently Galadari called the cops and the press. Wisely Khan’s wife Roya chose to stay out of the fracas.

“It’s sad for me that at a time like this, when I have to appeal for my property and my earnings are confiscated, that I have the additional menace in the form of Sabah and her lawyers. At least leave me alone now to deal with this personal tragedy in the name of ‘humanity’,” TOI reported Khan saying. India’s Family Court had earlier said that Galadari had to be provided sufficient shelter by Khan, against which the singer went to the division bench of Bombay High Court. Having no success there, Khan had decided to go to the Supreme Court. In between came the Fema order sent to both the parties, told Khan’s lawyer Vaibhav Krishnan.

“Sabah [now] said that she had no idea of the purchase of these flats. Before this she was claiming that Adnan had gifted her the apartments and that they were, therefore, hers,” Krishnan said.

“Through the Fema order the entire truth about Sabah’s claims came out because if she continued to claim she had paid for the property she would have to pay a heavy penalty,” Krishnan added.

So, what according to Khan’s lawyer does Galadari’s Sunday visit to the singer’s home entail?

Krishnan explained, “It’s very simple. Since according to the Fema order Adnan doesn’t own the property, he couldn’t gift it to anyone. Adnan as a Pakistani was disqualified from holding these flats, therefore Sabah was disqualified from receiving them as gifts. She can’t claim these properties.”

When contacted, Galadari told TOI, “If my title is defective, it stems from his illegal and defective title, and if he’s going to appeal, I will follow suit and claim my property. What is he doing in my flat?”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2011.