Is Ms Pandit Mrs Mishra?

The rules state that the contestant must be single. A 8217;missus8217; does not qualify for a Miss India crown. As the issue of Pandit8217;s eligibility flared up, Times Infotainment Media Limited, the pageant organisers, issued a statement saying: 8220;We are in the process of corroborating the issues that have surfaced involving the recently crowned Ms World 2004 8211; Ms Lakshmi Pandit. Once, we are thoroughly satisfied with our fact-finding process, we will be in a position to officially present the winners.8221;

The main evidence against Pandit appears to be that for the past five months, residents of Lok Sadan Cooperative Housing Society, Malad West have assumed she and her partner, Dr Siddharth Mishra are a married couple.

While brokers familiar with Mumbai8217;s housing situation pointed out that it is not uncommon for live-in-partners to pose as married for the purposes of renting an apartment, Pandit8217;s next-door neighbours insist that the broker introduced the couple to them as 8220;Mrs and Dr Mishra8221;.

Pramod Padwal, the agent who helped the couple find a house said he had shown 8220;three flats to the husband-wife8221;. When a TV reporter asked Pandit if she was married, she replied: 8220;I am single.8221;