Baba’s Niece and Nephew Take Their Family’s Dispute To Court After It Takes An ugly turn; Kalyani Group To Sue Them

Pallavi Anish Swadi, Baba Kalyani’s niece, and Sameer Hiremath, his nephew, have filed a complaint against him at the Pune District and Session Court, claiming a portion of the group’s assets in an ongoing family feud.

It contains shares of Bharat Forge, Kalyani Steels Limited, and Kalyani Consultants, three listed and private limited businesses that are part of the Kalyani Group. According to them, Sameer Hiremath and Pallavi Anish Swadi own a portion of the assets owned by the Kalyani Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), as per the Hindustan Times.

According to a story in the Times of India, the Kalyani Group intends to sue Sameer Hiremath and Pallavi Swadi for defaming the reputation of Kalyani Group chairman Baba Kalyani.

What is the Kalyani family’s argument?
There has long been a family quarrel between Sugandha Hiremath, the sister of Baba Kalyani, the managing director and chairman of Bharat Forge.

The family is Hindu and unbroken. In March 2023, Sulochana Kalyani passed away, and Sugandha filed a lawsuit in the Bombay High Court against Baba Kalyani and the family, requesting the enforcement of a 1994 family settlement that gave them control over the pharmaceutical and biotech company Hikal.

They also said in the petition that they are ignorant of the HUF’s entire asset and property holdings. Some estimates state that the group’s eight listed firms, including Bharat Forge, have a market valuation of nearly Rs 69,000 crore, in addition to their movable and immovable holdings.

Why Did Baba Kalyani’s Nephew and Niece Go to Court?
Sameer and Pallavi’s lawsuit states that the family’s collective assets and cash, as well as their great-grandfather Annappa Kalyani, were used for a variety of commercial ventures. Following Annappa’s passing in 1954, his son Neelkanth (the father of Sugandha and Baba) managed the family’s assets until Baba Kalyani took over in 2011, when his father’s health began to deteriorate.

Sameer and Pallavi said in their lawsuit that Baba’s dictatorial and uncooperative demeanour was the cause of their joint family’s disagreements and the ensuing legal disputes in various courts.

The lawsuit also said that while the Kalyani family had signed many agreements, none of them had terminated the Kalyani Family HUF. The 2005 change to the Hindu Succession Act gave daughters the same rights as sons and established Sugandha as a coparcener.

Bharat Forge’s Response to the Kalyani Family Conflict
A representative for Bharat Forge said that the petitioners resorted to the media before serving the defendants with their allegations in an attempt to “malign” Baba Kalyani’s reputation.

“We will vigorously defend our position in court and pursue appropriate civil and criminal defamation proceedings for any damage done to the reputation of Kalyani, his family, and the group as soon as the suit is served on us,” the statement said.