The Supreme Court on Monday strongly urged members of the Kalyani family to attempt a negotiated settlement in a dispute over ancestral assets estimated at about ₹1 trillion, while staying proceedings pending before the Bombay High Court. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohan, appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice L. Nageswara Rao as mediator and directed the parties to begin the process without delay. The court remarked that persuading the parties to mediate was akin to "taking an unwilling horse to the pond" yet maintained that the effort was worthwhile. Justice Bagchi emphasized that "there cannot be a hostile approach to mediation" and the CJI expressed confidence that the process would succeed. The matter has been posted for further hearing after two weeks, with the bench observing that there remained a genuine possibility of settlement. Chief Justice Surya Kant observed that mediation often succeeds when senior counsel help clients move beyond litigation and focus on preserving family relationships, emphasizing the value of mediation by referring to an earlier business-family dispute where reconciliation was achieved after the elder sibling sought respect rather than wealth.
Hiremath, 74, had moved the apex court after the high court refused to refer their dispute to mediation. As reported by The Times of India, the high court observed that mediation could not be imposed upon any party and had to be voluntary following Kalyani's rejection of an amicable settlement. Legal counsel representing Baba Kalyani, 77, opposed another mediation attempt, citing three prior failures. However, during the hearing, the Chief Justice made a pointed appeal for reconciliation, observing that "sometimes ego is more than assets" and expressing hope that mediation efforts would succeed. He also remarked that when the Chief Justice requests parties to consider mediation, they should give the proposal serious consideration. Baba Kalyani's counsel requested that mediation be conducted within a fixed timeframe while allowing proceedings before the Bombay High Court to continue, but the Supreme Court stayed all related proceedings for the duration of the mediation. Lawyers appearing for industrialist Baba Kalyani continue to oppose mediation, and sought to uphold the Bombay High Court order.
The dispute between the two siblings is spilling over to their listed companies, with the latest instance being the Kalyani faction abstaining from voting on a shareholder resolution to appoint Sandip Parikh as an independent director on the board of Hikal Ltd. According to Business Standard, while Parikh's appointment sailed through, as per disclosures made by Hikal last week, the decision of half of the promoters abstaining from voting on a crucial resolution raises risks of the dispute affecting the operations of a listed company with significant minority shareholders. Promoters hold 68.85% shares in chemicals maker Hikal Ltd, which has a market value of just over ₹3,000 crore, with Baba Kalyani controlling 34.01% stake through two companies while the rest of the promoter stake is with members of the Hiremath family. At present, the Hiremath family and entities controlled by it hold around 34.84% of Hikal, with enforcement of the 1994 arrangement potentially increasing their shareholding to about 68.85% and giving them majority voting rights. There is no indication that the litigation has affected the operations of the group's listed companies, with the dispute involving ancestral assets estimated to be worth over ₹1 trillion that has spawned multiple litigations over more than a decade.
The bench ordered that the siblings must approach Justice L. Nageswara Rao without any delay, and the mediation attempt must begin from Tuesday. As reported by The Times of India, the matter has been listed for hearing two weeks from now. Kalyani was represented by senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kapil Sibal, Mukul Rohatgi, and Aryama Sundaram, while Hiremath was represented by Karanjawala & Co, RJD & Partners and senior advocate Shyam Diva. The court cited an example of mediation between two brothers from a business family that succeeded after seven rounds, stating that such is the miracle and magic of mediation. Senior counsel appearing for both sides assured the Bench that they would contact Justice Rao during the day so that the mediation process could begin on Tuesday. The Supreme Court's intervention marks the first concerted attempt to bring all parties into a structured mediation process under the supervision of a former apex court judge, with the court emphasizing that all sides were financially well placed and should devote their energies to more constructive pursuits. The hearing featured some of the country's most prominent lawyers, with Sugandha Hiremath represented by Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, along with Karanjawala & Co and RJD & Partners, while Baba Kalyani's side was represented by Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kapil Sibal and Aryama Sundaram.
The Hikal proceedings form one part of a wider dispute among Baba Kalyani, Sugandha Hiremath, their brother Gaurishankar Kalyani and their respective children. The underlying suit was filed by Sugandha and her husband Jaidev Hiremath before the Bombay High Court in 2023, seeking specific performance of an alleged family arrangement reached in June 1994 between Baba Kalyani and his father Neelkanth Annappa Kalyani. According to The Times of India, Sugandha moved the high court in 2023 to enforce a June 1994 family arrangement requiring Baba-controlled entities to transfer their Hikal shares to her, which would increase her family's stake from 35% to 69% and grant them majority control. The Hiremath family currently holds about 34.84% of Hikal, while Kalyani Investment Company Limited and BF Investment Limited together own around 34.01%. They argue that implementation of the 1994 arrangement would raise their stake to nearly 68.85%, giving them majority voting control. The Kalyani side disputes the existence of any binding agreement for the transfer of the shares and contests the interpretation placed by the Hiremath family on a handwritten note prepared by Neelkanth Kalyani following a family meeting in 1994. The wider litigation concerns assets claimed by the Hiremath side to be belonging to the Kalyani family's Hindu Undivided Family, allegedly including promoter stakes in listed companies such as Bharat Forge and Kalyani Steels, shares in private companies, land, real estate, jewellery, bank deposits and other properties. Sugandha's children Sameer Hiremath and Pallavi Swadi have separately instituted partition proceedings claiming rights as coparceners in the alleged Kalyani Family HUF, with the Kalyani side denying the existence of such an HUF and maintaining that the businesses and properties are not joint family assets available for partition. Several connected partition, property and probate proceedings are pending before courts in Mumbai, Pune, Wai and Karad.
