SC asks Baba Kalyani and Sugandha Hiremath to settle disputes via mediation
Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Monday asked Bharat Forge chairman Babasaheb Kalyani and his sister Sugandha Hiremath to settle their disputes through mediation, appointing former
Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Monday asked Bharat Forge chairman Babasaheb Kalyani and his sister Sugandha Hiremath to settle their disputes through mediation, appointing former Supreme Court judge Justice L Nageswara Rao as the mediator. A three-member bench, presided over by Chief Justice Surya Kant, directed the parties to make one final attempt at an amicable resolution within the next two weeks. The top court, meanwhile, stayed the proceedings in the suit filed by Hiremath before the Bombay High Court. Hiremath, 74, had moved the apex court after the high court refused to refer their dispute to mediation. The high court observed that mediation could not be imposed upon any party and had to be voluntary following Kalyani’s rejection of an amicable settlement.
Legal counsel representing Baba Kalyani, 77, opposed another mediation attempt, citing three prior failures. However, the apex court urged the two parties to make one last attempt to bury the hatchet amicably. Kalyani’s legal counsel insisted that the mediation should be time-bound and that proceedings in the Bombay High Court should continue during this time. The Supreme Court, however, ordered that all proceedings be stayed during mediation. The bench ordered that the siblings must approach Justice L. Nageswara Rao without any delay, and the mediation attempt must begin from Tuesday. The matter has been listed for hearing two weeks from now. The court cited an example of mediation between two brothers from a business family that succeeded after seven rounds.
The older brother said that he did not want any of the wealth and only wished that his younger brother would pay him respect. The bench stated that after the younger brother touched the older brother’s feet, both the brothers broke down and put an end to their long pending dispute. “Such is the miracle and magic of mediation,” the bench said. Kalyani was represented by senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kapil Sibal, Mukul Rohatgi, and Aryama Sundaram. Hiremath was represented by Karanjawala & Co, RJD & Partners and senior advocate Shyam Diva. Shareholder resolutions The dispute between the two siblings is spilling over to their listed companies. The latest instance was the Kalyani faction abstaining from voting on a shareholder resolution to appoint Sandip Parikh as an independent director on the board of Hikal Ltd.
While Parikh’s appointment sailed through, as per disclosures made by Hikal last week, the decision of half of the promoters abstaining from voting on a crucial resolution raises risks of the dispute affecting the operations of a listed company with significant minority shareholders. Promoters hold 68.85% shares in chemicals maker Hikal Ltd, which has a market value of just over ₹3,000 crore. Baba Kalyani controls 34.01% stake through two companies while the rest of the promoter stake is with members of the Hiremath family.
The BriefWire