India, Dec. 24 -- T he rift between veteran singer Kumar Sanu and his ex-wife, Rita Bhattacharya, took a legal turn after the singer filed a Rs.50 crore defamation notice against her. Speaking about the development, Rita confirms that her legal counsel appeared in court on December 17 to respond to the notice, and the second date is scheduled for next month. The lawsuit stems from Rita's allegations from a September podcast that Kumar has not been in touch with the family for 31 years now, and didn't even turn up for their elder son's wedding. For Rita, who got married to Kumar in 1986 and divorced after seven years, with the separation finalised in 2001, the legal action has come as a shock. She says, "Why would I defame him now after all these years? If I had to, I should have done it a long time ago." Expressing her financial concerns over the suit, she adds, "Against the small, one-time alimony amount, he wants to raise such a big sum of Rs.50 crore from me. Main kahaan se dungi? Ab mere paas kuch bacha nahin, so I have to fight it out. The only way left is to file a defamation case against him now. Whatever proof I have, I will show in court," she ends....