Kalyani family feud: Sugandha tells court younger brother illegally transferred assets | Company Business News-OxBig News Network

Sugandha Hiremath Kalyani, sister of industrialist Baba Kalyani, has alleged that her younger brother Gaurishankar Kalyani “fraudulently” transferred family assets in Karad, a city in Satara near Pune, to himself.

In a fresh affidavit filed before a Pune civil court on Friday, Sugandha alleged Gaurishankar misused a 2008 power of attorney (POA) granted by their father, Dr. Neelkanth Kalyani, to “illegally and wrongfully” transfer two prime properties to his name. Mint has seen a copy of the affidavit.

Sugandha claimed the POA was meant solely for managing the assets and was dishonestly amended to include powers of gifting and transferring. She submitted court statements from Prakash Honrao, an employee of Gaurishankar’s firm, who admitted he was coerced into accepting the POA and executing the transfers under pressure from Gaurishankar’s wife, Rohini Kalyani.

The affidavit mentioned that after discovering the alleged “fraud”, Dr. Neelkanth Kalyani revoked the POA in 2009 and initiated legal proceedings, which remain pending in a court in Karad.

Sugandha also accused Gaurishankar and Baba Kalyani of secretly transferring other joint family assets and concealing these from the court.

“On the one hand, my brothers deny the existence of the joint family nucleus as well the status of the properties of the Kalyani Family HUF (Hindu Undivided Family), and in the same breath, both my brothers—Baba and Gaurishankar—are continuing to clandestinely transfer HUF properties to themselves by resorting to all sorts of nefarious means, and without maintaining any record of such transfers,” Sugandha said in her recent affidavit before the Pune court, which is hearing her partition suit.

Sugandha had moved the suit in March seeking her share in the family wealth. She sought an injunction to restrain her brothers from alienating any of the family assets, which include several properties across the country and shares of 250 companies. She also sought a court order asking her brothers to reveal details of all family properties.

The court was of the view that, considering the relations between the parties, the nature of the suit, the suit property, and the pendency of other proceedings, it would be appropriate to hear all the parties before passing any order.

The Pune court had earlier declined to grant an immediate injunction on asset transfers, but Sugandha is now urging fresh restrictions in light of the new evidence.

The matter will next be heard on 22 July.

Responding to the affidavit, the Baba Kalyani faction said that “despite filing a barrage of cases, Sugandha Hiremath has failed to secure a single order in her favour from the courts, evidencing falsehood of her claims”.

The allegations against Baba Kalyani are “baseless and malicious” and “categorically denied”, they added.