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Informist, Monday, Jul. 13, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Monday appointed L. Nageswara Rao, a former judge of the top court, as mediator in the Kalyani family dispute over ancestral wealth and promoter stake in listed companies, together estimated at more than INR 1 trillion. "Counsels were persuaded to explore the possibility of amicable settlement," said a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. "We request Justice Nageswara Rao to act as a mediator. Senior counsels assure that they will contact Justice Rao during today so that mediation can start from tomorrow. List this matter after two weeks."

 

The case has its genesis in Jaidev Hiremath and Sugandha Hiremath moving the Bombay High Court, asking that Babasaheb N. Kalyani, chairman of Bharat Forge Ltd. and brother of Sugandha Hiremath, and others comply with the terms of a 1994 family arrangement entered into between Kalyani and his parents. As per the arrangement, shares of Hikal Ltd., held by Kalyani Investment Co. Ltd. and BF Investment Ltd., both under the ownership and control of the Kalyani group, were to be transferred to the couple Jaidev and Sugandha Hiremath.

 

The Hiremaths had also filed an application seeking interim measures from the Bombay high court to restrain Kalyani and others from acting in any manner that is contrary to the terms of the 1994 family arrangement. Kalyani and others have also filed an application before the high court, challenging the maintainability of the Hiremaths' petition.

 

The parties are also involved in cases that are going on in a Pune civil court. In 2024, Sugandha Hiremath had filed a petition before the Pune civil court, claiming there existed a Kalyani Hindu Undivided Family that funded the creation of all the group's businesses that exist today, including flagship Bharat Forge. She argued that since the seed capital came from this Kalyani Hindu Undivided Family, all the assets of the group belong to it, of which she has claimed a part.

 

In May, the high court rejected Jaidev and Sugandha Hiremath's requests to refer the parties to mediation and appoint a retired judge of the Bombay High Court or the Supreme Court to resolve the dispute. The high court had said that earlier mediation attempts between the parties had failed and recourse to the alternative dispute resolution mechanism has to be mutual, but in the current case, Kalyani and others have opposed mediation. Further, The Mediation Act, 2023, does not provide for mandatory mediation and there is no possibility of settlement between the parties, the court said. Challenging the high court's order, Jaidev and Sugandha Hiremath moved the top court.

 

Monday, shares of Bharat Forge closed at INR 2145.60 on the National Stock Exchange, up 1.4% from Friday. Shares of Hikal closed at INR 245.69, up 0.4% from Friday. Shares of Kalyani Investment Co. Ltd. closed at INR 5,690, up 3.3%, and those of BF Investment Ltd. at INR 535.25, up 10%.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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