The document reveals a will registered by Baba Kalyani’s late mother, Sulochana Kalyani, in which she donated a large part of the family wealth to her younger son, Gaurishankar Kalyani. This is in stark contrast to Baba Kalyani’s claims about the family wealth.
This marks a new twist in the family feud, which has so far been mainly between Sugandha Hiremath and her family on one side and the families of Baba Kalyani and Gaurishankar Kalyani on the other.
The affidavit, of which a copy will be madeMint The court also alleges that Baba Kalyani took away a huge amount of property from his elderly father, Neelkanth Kalyani, in the 1990s and instigated Sulochana Kalyani to file cases against Gaurishankar Kalyani and his family.
The affidavit, filed in a Pune court by Sulochana Kalyani in December 2022, three months before her demise, states that between 1992 and 1994, Baba Kalyani took control of several family businesses, including Bharat Forge and Kalyani Steels Ltd from Neelkanth Kalyani.
This, the affidavit states, prompted Neelkanth and Sulochana Kalyani to decide to hand over control of the pharmaceutical company Hikal Ltd, promoted by the Hiremath family (which is at the centre of the Kalyani family feud) to their daughter Sugandha Hiremath.
Then in 2007, Baba Kalyani’s parents decided to gift certain assets from family trusts to Gaurishankar Kalyani and his family, the affidavit states.
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“Till then, Gaurishankar had not received any of the family or HUF (Hindu Undivided Family) property. Therefore, to protect Gaurishankar and his family, my husband (Neelkanth Kalyani) wanted to hand over his remaining property to Gaurishankar,” the affidavit states, adding that Gaurishankar and his wife Rohini Kalyani had been taking care of Sulochana and Neelkanth Kalyani since 1994.
According to Sulochana Kalyani’s will, the immovable property donated to Gaurishankar includes two plots in Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar (which belonged to Neelkanth and Sulochana Kalyani); a building called the Parvati Nivas of Kalyani (HUF) portion in Kalyani Nagar, Pune; a 14.97-acre plot of land in Karad, Satara district; another 3.57-acre plot in Karad; a 952 sq m plot in Kalyani Nagar, Pune; and another plot in Karad opposite a place called Bail Bazar in Satara.
Emails sent to Baba Kalyani, Gaurishankar Kalyani’s wife Rohini and son Viraj Kalyani, and Sugandha Hiremath remained unanswered.
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The third factor: Gaurishankar Kalyani
The Kalyani family feud began last year after Baba Kalyani refused to hand over his shares in Hikal to his sister Sugandha Hiremath.
The dispute then widened to claims by the two families over the multi-billion dollar assets owned by the Kalyani family and assets in companies such as Bharat Forge, Kalyani Steel, BF Investments, BF Utilities, Kalyani Investments and Automotive Axles, whose collective market capitalisation is more than ₹91 billion rupees, or about $10.8 billion.
Earlier this year, on February 8, Madan Umakant Takale, the executor of the Hiremath family’s estate, and one Shrikrishna Kiran Adivarekar moved a Pune court seeking probate of Sulochana Kalyani’s will and a testament dated January 27, 2012, which purportedly favoured Baba Kalyani.
Adivarekar is an independent director of several Kalyani group companies, including Hikal and Kalyani Steels. Succession refers to the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person, including distribution of assets and payment of liabilities.
Read also | Inside the ₹Billionaire Baba Kalyani and his sister in €1.3 billion dispute
While the court decided to hear this succession petition case on October 9, Gaurishankar Kalyani filed an affidavit opposing the 2012 will on July 15.
Gaurishankar Kalyani urged the court not to accept the petition filed in February, saying the 2012 will had been obtained under “coercion, undue influence and/or importunity”.
In his affidavit, Gaurishankar claimed that Baba Kalyani had taken undue advantage of his mother and allegedly forced her to file complaints against Gaurishankar and his family.
Gaurishankar holds a 2.67% stake in Bharat Forge through 10 private companies, including Jannhavi Investment, Yusmarg Investment and Dandakaranya Investment.
Following Gaurishankar Kalyani’s July affidavit challenging the 2012 will, Sulochana Kalyani’s December 2022 will donating assets to Gaurishankar Kalyani has come to light.
Following this, on August 3, Gaurishankar Kalyani’s son Viraj Kalyani also moved the Pune court seeking probate of Sulochana Kalyani’s will mentioned in the affidavit dated December 2022.
The Pune court has decided to hear Viraj Kalyani’s case on September 23.
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