HC appoints administrator for MP Birla group

KOLKATA: The Birlas on Friday scored a major victory in their legal battle against Rajender Singh Lodha for control of the MP Birla Group when the Calcutta High Court ordered appointment of four administrators to the estate of Priyamvada Birla.
    
Lodha, who had claimed that the entire estate worth over Rs 5000 crore was willed away to him by Priyamvada, however, obtained a reprieve from the division bench to retain his position as company chairman.
    
Justice Kalyanjyoti Sengupta, who had reserved his order on a plea by Birla that the estate of Priyamvada Birla needed to be protected till the court decided, who should be the rightful heir to the estate, ordered that four administrators be appointed to run the affairs of the MP Birla group.

 

The court restrained Lodha from acting as chairman or company director on the strength of the shareholding of Priyamvada, while directing that two of the administrators should be from the legal profession, another a chartered accountant and one person having experience of running a corporate house.
    
The court, however, did not name the administrators.

 

Lodha's counsel Anindya Mitra, however, immediately moved a division bench of Justice PC Ghosh and Justice TK Dutt, challenging the conditions imposed by the court contending that it was interfering in the running of the company.
    
The bench allowed Lodha to continue as the chairman of the company while staying the conditions imposed by Justice Sengupta. The bench, however, directed Lodha not to take any policy decision as it posted the matter for hearing on June
13.