Fresh row over Bajaj Sevashram

Shishir, Rahul factions dissent over all-important chairmanship.

Another front has opened in the Bajaj family's feud over the division of assets between the two factions led by Bajaj Auto Chairman Rahul Bajaj and his brother Shishir Bajaj, with both sides claiming chairmanship of the group's main investment firm Bajaj Sevashram.

While the Shishir camp claimed that he was the chairman of Bajaj Sevashram, the Rahul faction said his cousin and Bajaj Electricals Chairman Shekhar was the chairman. The issue was placed before the Company Law Board and will come up for hearing on May 28.

Bajaj Sevashram holds, directly and indirectly, shares in all Bajaj group companies. Both Rahul and Shishir hold 25 per cent each in Bajaj Sevashram, while Rahul's cousins "" Shekhar, Madhur and Niraj"" have 16.67 per cent each.

The chairmanship of this company is important as three non-family directors in its five-member board are seen as neutral. So the chairman can tilt board meetings in his favour.

The Shishir faction said they had been marginalised in the board since 1995 when 14 shares of Bajaj Sevashram were bought by Rahul and Niraj, not by the family investment companies.

Two years later, the company declared a bonus issue in the ratio of 1:3 which resulted in Shishir getting fewer shares than the others.

Shishir objected to this and some shares were subsequently transferred, but Shishir's son Kushagra alleges that they never received them.