Indian tennis great Leander Paes has challenged the domestic violence complaint filed by estranged live-in companion Rhea Pillai, saying she was married to actor Sanjay Dutt when she entered into a relationship with him, hence their association was "not in the nature of marriage".

Reports The Times of India that Pillai is seeking a monthly maintenance of Rs 4 lakh from Leander after filing a complaint against him and his father Vece Paes under the Domestic Violence Act, which provides protection to live-in partners as well.

However, Leander's application, filed by his lawyers Mridula Kadam and Ishwar Nankani of Nankani Associates, has said that one of the criteria to seek protection under the Domestic Violence Act is the relationship should be "in the nature of marriage".

The application said, "In Rhea's case, the child was born during the subsistence of her marriage with Sanjay Dutt. She was married when she entered into a relationship with Leander Paes, knowingly her relationship wouldn't fall within the expression "relationship in the nature of marriage", as is mandated by the Act." The estranged couple are already locked in a custody battle of their eight-year-old daughter in a different court. Leander's application said that Rhea herself has said that the couple had no intimacy after the birth of their daughter. "This again shows that the relationship was not in the nature of marriage," the application said.