Lodha opposes Birla plea

Rajendra Singh Lodha, who has claimed that the late Priyamvada Birla in her last will and testament of 1999 had bequeathed her entire property to him, has opposed the plea of Kashinath Tapuria and Pradip Kumar Khaitan to be added as parties to the grant of probate suit of late Priyamvada Birla's will pending in the Calcutta High Court.

Justice K J Sengupta directed the parties to file affidavits in the case and fixed the case for hearing on July 26.

Tapuria and Khaitan filed the application for addition of parties on the ground that Justice K J Sengupta in his order of March 11, 2005, had held that G P Birla being an executor of Priyamvada Birla's mutual will of 1982, had caveatable interest in her last will made in 1999.

The two applicants were co-executors in the 1982 mutual will and therefore had caveatable interest in the light of the Justice Sengupta's order.

In the petition, the applicants stated that they sought to file caveat in the probate proceedings initiated by R S Lodha, but the High Court department has refused to accept the caveats saying that probate application of Lodha had by now been converted into a testamentary suit.

The two applicants prayed to be added on as parties to the testamentary suit for better adjudication of the issue.

Justice Sengupta in his March 11 order held that K K Birla, B K Birla and Yashvardhan Birla had no caveatable interest in the will of Priyamvada Birla made in 1999, but G P Birla had a right to file his caveat.

The two sisters of late M P Birla had also filed caveats in the probate proceedings.

After the death of one sister - Laxmi Newar - Arvind Newar, N G Khaitan, D K Mantri and Ajoy Newar had been substituted in her place to contest the probate proceedings.