Baba Kalyani Group threatens to file defamation, denies allegation

In a new twist to the ongoing Kalyani and Hiremath family feud, Bharat Forge Chairman Baba Kalyani-led faction has decided to take on the fresh petition filed for partition of assets head-on and denied all the allegations made in the petition.

Reacting to the development, a spokesperson of Baba Kalyani faction said the claims by the petitioners have been made with the intent to malign the image of (Bharat Forge chairman) Baba Kalyani, his family and the Group.

“We categorically deny these allegations and state that the aversions made are factually incorrect and baseless,” he said.

“It is shocking that the petitioners filed the suit on March 20 in the Pune Court and inappropriately handed over a copy of the suit to the media first, without even serving it on defendants, or even before the matter is admitted for hearing in the Court. This itself shows malicious intent of petitioners, which is to defame and tarnish the image of Baba Kalyani, his family and the Group,” he said.

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“As and when the suit is served on us, we will defend our position before the court of law, including initiating appropriate civil/ criminal defamation proceedings for tarnishing the image of Kalyani, his family and the Group,” said the spokesperson.

The tussle between Baba Kalyani and his sister Sugandha has taken many twist and turns. In a fresh development, Sameer and Pallavi, children of Sugandha and Jai Hiremath, have filed a suit in a Pune court seeking partition of the Kalyani family assets to claim their share of the Kalyani Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) assets, which includes Bharat Forge, and listed and privately-held companies.

Hikal control

The petition (reviewed by businessline) said that everything that is now in the family pool, irrespective of whose name the assets are in, are part of the HUF and hence to be considered during partition.

The Kalyani Group includes eight listed companies with a combined market capitalisation of ₹69,300 crore. Bharat Forge dominates with a valuation of ₹52,600 crore, with the Kalyani Group having a 45 per cent stake in it. Hikal’s market value was ₹3,270 crore as of Wednesday.

The relation between the Hiremaths and Baba Kalyani turned sour over control of Hikal, a Kalyani Group company. The Hiremaths moved the Bombay High Court last year alleging that Kalyani was not honouring a family arrangement, he had reached with his father, that pledged to transfer all the Hikal shares to them. Baba Kalyani said the family arrangement of 1994 was just a “note” by his father Neelkanth Kalyani and not a legally-binding document. The case is pending in Court.

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