Hiremath siblings move mediation proposal before court, industrialist-uncle Baba Kalyani terms it frivolous

The Hiremath siblings took offence to their uncle Baba Kalyani calling their great grandfather, Annappa Narayan Kalyani, a pauper

Petitioners Sameer Hiremath and Pallavi Swadi – children of Sugandha Hiremath, younger sister of industrialist Baba Kalyani - on Monday filed a mediation proposal before the court of joint civil judge senior division S S Shinde citing that they are quite disturbed by the family dispute-related mudslinging in court. The Hiremaths had filed a suit seeking division of the Kalyani family assets to claim their share of the Kalyani Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) assets, which include Bharat Forge and listed and privately-held companies.

In their original suit filed in the Pune local court, the Hiremath siblings had contended that all the property under the Kalyani Group is not owned by an individual member but by the joint family. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

The court accepted their request for mediation and on submission of the mediation proposal online, the petitioners’ lawyers assembled in court before the judge who in open court said, “Now, no order will be passed” and kept the matter for hearing on September 3. Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Kalyani Group termed the mediation proposal frivolous and said that it demonstrated that the siblings have no cause of action in filing the division suit.

The group spokesperson said, “Having filed a frivolous suit before the Pune local court seeking division of the alleged properties of the Kalyani HUF, both Sameer Hiremath and Pallavi Swadi have now sought the permission of the court to permit mediation of the dispute. The proposal to mediate in the pending dispute itself demonstrates that both have no cause of action in filing the division suit. Both petitioners have been indulging in making malicious attempts to defame certain named family members.”

Whereas the petitioners’ lawyer, advocate Shailendra Aglawe, said, “The defendant (Baba Kalyani) had filed a reply in the case mentioning certain things about his grandfather. We found the reply extremely disturbing for the family name. Hence, we filed a rejoinder in court today denying all the hurtful statements. In order to prevent any further mudslinging in court, we suggested mediation to the court. We submitted an application to that effect. The court has agreed to refer the matter to mediation.”

The Hiremath siblings took offence to their uncle Baba Kalyani calling their great grandfather, Annappa Narayan Kalyani, a pauper. In a reply filed in the Pune court, Sameer Hiremath and Pallavi Swadi accused Baba Kalyani of perjury. They stated in their rejoinder that the industrialist had lied under oath. Earlier, Baba Kalyani had filed an affidavit stating that his nephew and niece (Sameer Jai Hiremath and Pallavi Swadi, respectively) have no right to file and maintain a suit seeking division of the alleged Kalyani HUF assets. He said that the duo are not members of the Kalyani joint family and as per the law in force, they cannot claim status as coparceners in the Kalyani joint family. Gaurishankar Kalyani too filed an application stating that the Hiremaths do not have any right to claim division as they can only claim rights through their mother - Sugandha Hiremath – whose claims are barred by limitation.

In their original suit filed in the Pune local court, the Hiremath siblings had contended that all the property under the Kalyani Group is not owned by an individual member but by the joint family. The petitioners had also demanded one-ninth of the family estate including stakes in Bharat Forge and Kalyani Steel as their share. A suit had also been filed against five other family members, including the siblings’ mother Sugandha Hiremath; her brother Gaurishankar Kalyani; his children - Sheetal Kalyani and Viraj Kalyani; and Baba Kalyani’s son, Amit Kalyani.

Viraj Kalyani, managing director of Kalyani Forge and son of Gaurishankar Kalyani and nephew of Baba Kalyani and Sugandha Hiremath, in his affidavit told the Pune civil court that the suit filed by the Hiremath siblings is not maintainable as they are not members (coparceners) of the Kalyani HUF and have no pre-existing right to claim division of the Kalyani HUF assets.