Judge says he knows Birlas, can't hear case

Lakshmi Newar & Radha Mohta, sisters of late MP Birla, file caveats on probate proceedings.

Justice Subhra Kamal Mukherjee of the Calcutta High Court on Monday released the probate case relating to the will of Priyamvada Birla from his jurisdiction on "personal grounds".

In a simultaneous development, the two sisters of the late MP Birla, Lakshmi Newar and Radha Mohta, filed caveats on the probate proceedings. They will now receive notices in the matter.

The two surviving sisters of MP Birla are the next of kin of MP Birla and his wife Priyamvada and are the natural heirs to the estate.

The two sisters had not been included in the first round of names of possible heirs to the estate of MP Birla despite their status as the closest blood relatives of the childless MP Birla.

RS Lodha's petition challenging the authority of four Birla family members to file caveats in the probate proceedings came up for hearing today in the court of Justice Mukherjee.

The matter was called on for hearing but before the counsel for Lodha, Anindya Mitra, Protap Chatterjee and Dhrubha Ghosh, could start their arguments, the judge declined to take up the case.

The judge said his uncle was a close associate of the Birla family and he himself had worked for the Birla family when he was practising as a lawyer.

The judge said he knew two members of the Birla family closely. Under these circumstances, he felt it would not be fair on his part to hear the case.

The Birla side was represented by SB Mookherjee, Samaraditya Pal, PK Ray, Shyam Sarkar and Sanjeev Banerjee. Counsel for both Lodha and the Birlas tried to satisfy the court that neither side had any objection if the court decided to hear the case, but the judge refused to revise his decision.

The court released the matter and directed the office to put the case before the acting chief justice to assign the matter to any other judge who could hear it.

High Court sources said the matter would be put up before Acting Chief Justice Ajoy Nath Ray, who will assign the case. The process may take a day or two.

Last Friday, Lodha filed a petition under the provisions of the Hindu Succession

Act and the Calcutta High Court original side rules, challenging the right of four Birla family members, KK Birla, BK Birla, SK Birla and Yashovardhan Birla, to lodge caveats in the probate proceeding initiated by him for the last will and testament of Priyamvada Birla.