The Hindu : Business : Birlas file for probate of 1982 `mutual Will'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 18, 2004

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Business

Birlas file for probate of 1982 `mutual Will'

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA, AUG. 17. The battle for the property of late Madho Prasad Birla intensified today with a probate application being filed for a "mutual and concurrent Will made out by M. P. Birla and his wife, late Priyamavada Birla, in 1982."

Announcing this at a press conference here N. G. Khaitan, Birlas' solicitors said that the Will leaves all properties, except personal belongings to public charity. Mr. Khaitan said that in his suit filed today he had taken a stand that Rajendra Singh Lodha has neither "the rightful power nor was he the lawful executor of late M. P. Birla's properties and he was wrongfully interfering in the estate".

Reiterating that late Priyamavada Birla could not have signed the `purported Will' of 1999, Mr. Khaitan said that whatever she acquired was on the basis of the concurrent Will of 1982. Copies of the two Wills (it was changed once between 1981 and 1982 to increase the number of executors) were made available to the press.

Mr. Khaitan declined to comment whether criminal proceedings would be initiated against Mr. Lodha. To a question on the delay in filing for the probate he retorted, "What delay? It has only been a month since the mourning got over".

The executors to the mutual Will were K. K. Birla, G. D. Birla, Kashinath Tapuria (Ms. Birla's brother) and B. P. Khaitan. Mr. N. G. Khaitan noted that the family was totally involved in this Will of which the ultimate beneficiary were `charities'.

Mr. Khaitan said that while in his application for discharge of caveats filed by the Birla family, Mr. Lodha had maintained that late M. P. Birla had died intestate (that is without a Will), in his probate application he had annexed documents which were contradictory to this stand.

Regarding the valuation of the property, Mr. Khaitan said while Mr. Lodha's probate application mentions a figure of Rs. 3.52 crores as the value of the estate, in reality the figure stood at Rs. 2,404 crores as regards valuation of her shareholdings which together with the net worth of the charitable institutions would amount of Rs. 5,000 crores.

Even as Birlas' solicitors expressed confidence that probate will not be granted for the 1999 Will, Debanjan Mandal, solicitors to Mr. Lodha said that it was unfortunate that comments were being made on judiciary matters in this manner. He said that no inspection of "the alleged Wills" has been allowed to them as yet.

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