Baba Kalyani, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Forge
The Pune-based billionaire Baba Kalyani has labelled claims about a supposed second will from his late mother, produced by his younger brother Gaurishankar Kalyani regarding the division of family assets, as a “misinformation campaign”.
While Baba Kalyani, the 75-year-old patriarch of the Kalyani Group, has consistently maintained a high profile throughout his career, his younger brother, Gaurishankar Kalyani, 70, a non-executive director at the Pune-based engineering firm Kalyani Forge, prefers to remain low-key. The day-to-day operations of Kalyani Forge, which reported revenues of Rs 237 crore as of March 2024, are managed by Gaurishankar Kalyani’s wife, Rohini, and their son, Viraj.
Gaurishankar, who is a commerce graduate with “expertise in management and financial sector”, is not on the board of any companies operated by his elder brother but is a member of various committees of the Kalyani Forge board and several private companies in the group. “He is not actively involved in the day-to-day operations of Kalyani Forge but is giving guidance to the board as and when needed,” said a source close to the family.
Interestingly, the new will of 2022, as per an affidavit by Gaurishankar to the court, is contested by both Baba Kalyani and their sister Sugandha Hiremath. A source in the Hiremath family said as per their information, their mother died intestate and hence the court will have to decide the authenticity of the wills produced by both brothers.
This is not the first time Gaurishankar and his family are fighting for his share of family assets. Earlier in 2015, Gaurishankar’s daughter Sheetal had moved the Pune court seeking her share from the family wealth. The matter is pending.
The latest feud between the siblings over the “purported” will ignited when Madan Umakant Takale and Shrikrishna Kiran Adivarekar, independent directors in private investment companies of the group, moved court in February this year for probate of Sulochana Kalyani’s earlier will and testament dated January 27, 2012. The probate application in the Pune court will be heard on October 9.
Later on July 15, Gaurishankar filed an affidavit to contest the 2012 will of their mother and attached a new will dated December 9, 2022. On August 3, Viraj, Gaurishankar’s son, also moved for probate of Sulochana Kalyani’s will in the Pune court and testament dated December 9, 2022. The matter is slated to come up for hearing on September 23.
In a statement on Monday, Baba Kalyani said these claims are orchestrated by interested parties to tarnish his reputation while also attempting to sway public opinion through a media trial. “The claims made in an affidavit of late Sulochana Kalyani as produced by Gaurishankar Kalyani are fabricated, incorrect and denied,” the statement by Baba Kalyani said.
Baba Kalyani is fighting legal battles with his siblings on several fronts, including with his sister Sugandha over the control of BSE-listed Hikal Ltd. Both Gaurishankar and Sugandha are seeking a division of assets of the Kalyani group, including in the flagship Bharat Forge, which has a market cap of Rs 74,508 crore as of Monday, and the Kalyani family owns a 45.25 per cent stake worth Rs 33,731 crore in the flagship company.
As per Sulochana’s new affidavit of 2022, between 1992 and 1994, Baba took away the control of several companies, including Bharat Forge and KSL, from her husband – the founder of the group. After 1994, her husband and she were left with only a small portion of the wealth generated by her husband and decided to give Hikal Ltd to Sugandha, the will says.
“Only Gaurishankar had not received any of the family and HUF assets till then. So to safeguard Gaurishankar and his family, my husband wished to give his remaining assets to Gaurishankar which include shares of Kalyani Forge and shares of Bharat Forge and some immovable properties,” the affidavit dated December 9, 2022, by Sulochana Kalyani, says.
First Published: Sep 16 2024 | 7:55 PM IST
