Akshay and Twinkle served legal notice to stop them from auctioning Rustam costume

New Delhi: Around twenty one people that included eleven serving armed forces officers, seven retired officers have sent a legal notice to actor Akshay Kumar, producer and writer of the film 'Rustam' Twinkle Khanna and auction house for their decision to auction a naval costume that Akshay donned in the movie.

In the legal notice served by Advocate Smita Dikshit on behalf of these people to the star couple in which they have been asked to stop the auction of the costume. If they failed to do so legal action will be initiated against them. It is stated in the legal notice that auctioning the costume is a potent security threat as it might go in the hands of wrong people. The legal notice says that the "uniforms resembling those of the armed forces pose potential threat to the national security as the said uniform, insignia and badges could pass for genuine service clothing and can find their way to anti-national elements who can use it to foment trouble."

The notice further states that after the Pathankot attack, "Indian Army had issued guidelines urging civilians across the country to avoid wearing army pattern dresses and shopkeepers were asked to not sell combat clothes, uniforms and equipments as it is 'illegal to do so'. Thus, by putting the naval officer uniform for auction you have shown disrespect to national interest and have hurt the sentiments of armed force personnel."

The matter started when Twinkle Khanna shared Akshay Kumar's tweet drawing ire of many including armed forces officials. One officer Lt Col Sandeep Ahlawat raised his voice of dissent and slammed Twinkle in social media post for her idea. He wrote that what Akshay wore in Rustom was merely "a piece of costume and not uniform."

She had recently supported Akshay's announcement to sell off the "actual naval uniform" he donned in the 2016 film, which was loosely based on the 1959 Nanavati murder case. Khanna received a lot of flak on social media for backing the sale, the proceeds from which would go to "the cause of animal rescue and welfare".