A lawsuit in a court in Vadgaon Maval has put actor Sonali Bendre and filmmaker Goldie Behl at the center of this land dispute in Pune district. Farmer Chandrakant Balu Shinde, age 50, and his 75-year-old mother Kamalbai say the couple tried to take over over thirty guntha of farmland, and used their connections to frighten their family.
Allegations in the civil suit
The Shindes say the couple tried to take about 32,000 square feet of land in Uksan village, Maval taluka. The lawsuit says Bendre and Behl hired workers and heavy equipment to begin building on the land without permission, and used their popularity to get the police to help them.
The complaint, filed with a lawyer last month, describes the couple’s supposed actions as ‘mafia-style’ intimidation. The family says they were threatened when they said they didn’t want the couple to take the land, which raises questions about whether they were forced to do something in this disagreement over rural land that now involves public figures.
Tenancy history and disputed transfers
The Shinde family says they have farmed the land as protected tenants since 1940. They state that in the 1980s their names were taken off of the official land records without them being told, and they say this change was illegal and caused all the later sales of the land.
According to the lawsuit, the original owners of the land sold it to someone in the area in 2012, and Goldie Behl bought a piece of that land in March 2021. The Shindes say these sales aren’t legal because their right to farm the land was never legally ended, and therefore is more important than these later purchases.
Claims of threats and police conduct
The lawsuit says that on December 14, 2025, Sonali Bendre and Goldie Behl went to the land with machinery. The Shindes say that when Kamalbai stepped in, she was threatened, and the police at the scene told the family they could be falsely accused of stealing if they continued to object to the work.
These claims also raise questions about whether the couple misused their power and if the police were biased. The lawsuit asks the court to look at what happened at the land, review what the police did, and decide if being forced or improperly influenced played a role in the couple taking over the land.
Responses from Sonali Bendre and legal team
Sonali Bendre says the accusations aren’t true, and her name isn’t on any of the papers for buying the land in Maval. Her lawyer said the complaint is without a basis, and called it “a made up case only intended to get money.”
Bendre and Behl’s legal team thinks the lawsuit is an attempt to get money, and not a real disagreement about who has the right to farm the land or who owns it. The couple’s lawyers are expected to question the facts in the complaint and ask for written proof of the family’s claims about their rights.
Legal process ahead and broader implications
The case is scheduled to be heard again on April 24, when both sides will make their arguments and show evidence. The court will probably look at the land records, the history of who has owned the land, documents relating to the tenancy, and any records of the police being at the scene or complaints being made.
This case, beyond the Shindes and Bendre and Behl, shows how disagreements about rural land can get much worse when well-known people are involved. The courts will have to look at how the land was farmed in the past, changes to government records from many years ago, and what the police did at the time. The final decision could create important rules for handling fights over land sales and claims of intimidation.
For now, this is a civil issue that will be decided in court. People watching should expect the court to base its decision on facts and documents, not on what people are saying publicly, and the legal process will determine who owns the property and what, if anything, someone should be compensated for.
