SC asks Baba Kalyani and Sugandha Hiremath to settle disputes via mediation
Mumbai: Supreme Court on Monday asked Bharat Forge chairman Babasaheb Kalyani and his sister Sugandha Hiremath will resolve their dispute through mediation and appoint former Supreme Court judge Justice L Nageswara Rao as mediator.
The three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, directed the parties to make a final attempt to find an amicable solution within the next two weeks. Meanwhile, the top court stayed the proceedings of the case filed by Hiremath in the Bombay High Court.
Hiremath, 74, had moved the apex court after the high court refused to take their dispute to mediation. After Kalyani rejected the amicable solution, the high court observed that mediation cannot be imposed on any party and must be voluntary.
Legal counsel representing Baba Kalyani, 77, opposed another attempt at mediation, citing three previous failures.
But the apex court urged the two sides to make one last attempt to bury the hatchet amicably.
Kalyani’s legal counsel insisted that the mediation should be time-limited and the proceedings in the Bombay High Court should continue in the meantime. However, the Supreme Court decided to stay all proceedings pending mediation.
The bench directed the brothers to approach Justice L. Nageswara Rao without any delay and the mediation attempt would begin from Tuesday.
The issue was listed for discussion in two weeks.
The court cited an example of successful mediation after seven rounds between two brothers from a business family. His older brother replied that he did not want any of the wealth and only wished for his younger brother to respect him. The court panel stated that after the younger brother touched his older brother’s foot, both siblings broke down and put an end to their long-standing dispute.
“This is the miracle and magic of mediation,” the board 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 lawyer Shyam Diva.
Shareholder resolutions
The dispute between the two brothers also spread to listed companies. The latest example of this was when the Kalyani group abstained from voting on the shareholder resolution to appoint Sandip Parikh as an independent director on the board of Hikal Ltd.
While Parikh’s appointment was taking place, half of the supporters abstained from voting on a key decision, according to statements made by Hikal last week, increasing the risk that the dispute could affect the operations of a listed company with significant minority shareholders.
The promoters hold a 68.85% stake in chemicals maker Hikal Ltd, which has a market capitalization of just over ₹200,000. ₹3,000 crore. Baba Kalyani controls 34.01% stake through two companies, while the rest of the promoter shares are held by members of the Hiremath family.
Spokespeople representing both sides declined to comment.
