The high-voltage battle between the Ambani siblings -- Mukesh and Anil -- has put under stress the legacy of their father Dhirubhai Ambani, Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said today.
"(Late) Dhirubhai has contributed a major dimension to modern India and India Inc and it is sad that the legacy is being put under such stress because of circumstances and developments that have taken place," he told PTI.
Asked if MCA can play any role in resolving the Ambani dispute, as the interest of shareholders was at stake, he said whenever there is a situation like this, "our advice is 'don't fight'."
"As far as Reliance is concerned, it is not a matter that pertains to the MCA yet. There is nothing that has come to us or for that matter to the Company Law Board (CLB)," he said.
The Ambani brothers are fighting within and outside the courts over natural gas.
"I come across such cases almost every day... It's sad that families that have done very well fall out for one reason or the other...
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"Really it depends on their own perceptions and it depends on their own compulsions. It is difficult to sit outside and get a real feel of why people are pushed to take these steps," Khurshid added.
Khurshid decried that often very successful and outstanding families in the country, in the third or fourth generation end up splitting and demonstrate in public, disagreements on what to do with their fortunes. The CLB tries its best to find amicable solutions to such problems as far as possible, he said.
Besides Ambani brothers, India Inc has witnessed disputes in several well known business families like the Bajajs, Birlas, Modis, etc.
Even after the two parted ways in June 2005, splitting the Reliance empire between themselves, the Ambani brothers have continued to spar. In the latest court battle, Anil Ambani group firm RNRL is seeking gas at a price of $2.34 per mmBtu, which Mukesh-led RIL is opposing on the grounds that the price needs government approval.