Bombay HC holds builder Vijay Raheja guilty

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday held Vijay Raheja, architect and developer, guilty of contempt of court orders.

A division bench comprising Justices S Radhakrishnan and S Vazifdar fined him and his six family members Rs 2,000 each and directed them to pay Rs 10 lakh as voluntary donation to the Legal Aid Society.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Gopal Raheja in 2004 against his brother Vijay Raheja for taking over a Rs 45 crore five-star hotel deal they were supposed to handle jointly on 50-50 basis.

Senior Counsel for Gopal, Janak Dwarkadas said that the court had earlier passed an order restraining the shareholders of the plot, where the hotel was to be constructed, from exercising rights from their shares, including voting rights.

Despite the court orders, the shareholders passed a resolution alloting shares in their company in favour of Vijay Raheja and his companies.

The court held this as contempt and passed the said directions. The main dispute is pending and will come up for hearing after the Christmas vacation.