The Bombay High Court, in an interim order, has directed real estate developer Niranjan Hiranandani to deposit ₹370 crore in cash and ₹149.5 crore in bank guarantees in six weeks as compensation to his daughter Priya Hiranandani Vandrevala for breach of trust and infringement of the terms of a business agreement.
The court also stayed a London arbitration tribunal award of ₹519 crore to Priya.
Hiranandani and his London-based daughter Priya had entered into a business deal in 2006 to develop real estate in India. The deal — a business associate agreement — excluded certain ongoing projects that Niranjan and his son Darshan were already involved in. The two fell out in 2009.
Priya invoked the arbitration clause after her father breached the contract.
Following litigation, a London-based arbitration tribunal passed a ‘partial award’ in 2013, stating that Priya was entitled to damages for the breach, with regard to five projects.
It passed a ‘final award’ fixing the quantum of compensation against such damages and legal costs at ₹519.87 crore, which included grossed-up taxes of ₹149.50 crore.
Niranjan and Darshan initially challenged both orders of the tribunal, but later accepted the ‘partial award’.
Earlier this year, the two filed a plea in the Bombay High Court challenging the quantum fixed by the ‘final award’, and the grossed-up tax amount, to Priya.
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