'Witness' says he did not see Birla's will

Lodha moves court for probate.

The battle over the assets of the MP Birla group took a dramatic turn late on Monday evening with PL Agarwal of Khaitan & Co reportedly filing a petition stating he had not acted as a witness in the will executed by Priyamvada Birla. Earlier in the day, RS Lodha filed a petition seeking probate on the registered will.

Sources in the filing section of the Calcutta High Court said Agarwal had pleaded that his petition to be heard simultaneously with the probate petition.

A senior partner of Khaitan & Co, legal advisers to the Birlas, said the firm had not received a copy of the registered will and the probate petition. Agarwal's petition denying his role as a witness to the registered will was therefore made without viewing the document that had been forwarded for probate.

The public relations agency representing the Birlas said it was not aware of the development. Agarwal, too, was not available for comment.

Sources close to the Lodhas said they had no information on the matter and added that the petition had several implications.

First, Agarwal would become a litigant and would have to be treated as a hostile witness in case the Lodhas chose to refer to the witnesses. Second, Agarwal, as a litigant, could seek shelter in his status to shield himself from cross-questioning in the case.

Earlier in the day, Lodha filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking a probate on the will. The Birla family issued a statement saying they would contest the move.

Fox & Mandal, solicitors for the Lodhas, said the petition was filed this morning and the will was a registered document. The statement said the will was executed in 1999 and registered in Kolkata.

The Birla family said they would be contesting the move to grant probate to the purported will of Priyamvada Birla.

"We remain committed and united in our resolve to protect and secure the estate of late Smt and Shri MP Birla for charity as was intended and stated by them on numerous occasions," the Birla release said.

"We have not received a copy of the will, and so cannot speak on its authenticity and legal validity," a senior legal practitioner, representing Khaitan, told Business Standard late on Monday.

He said he could not comment on who the witnesses were and the future course of action till the document was examined.

Sources said 17 members of the Birla family, including BK Birla, KK Birla, Yashovardhan Birla and Nandini Nopany, had filed caveats in the court, in order to restrain Lodha from obtaining an ex-party probate.

According to legal sources, a copy of the will and an affidavit of the assets were attached to the probate application.

Where there's a will

The case for Lodha

• The fact that the will was registered in 1999 means its authenticity cannot be challenged
• It will now be difficult to establish that at the time of signing the will, Priyamavada Birla was of unsound mind

The case against

• Birlas could plead Lodha is not the natural legal heir, so Priyamavada Birla acted in an unnatural manner
• They could argue that Priyamvada Birla had overstepped her rights in giving away assets that were not hers to give