Ness Wadia, high-flying director of Wadia Group, lands in new controversy

Since late March, the Mumbai's cocktail circuits were agog with rumours that Wadia group scion, Ness Wadia, 47, has been arrested in Japan for drug possession and the family has flown to Tokyo to bring him back.

Early this week, these rumours were confirmed when the Financial Times reported that that eldest son of Nusli Wadia, the patriarch of the Wadia group, had been sentenced for two years for drug possession while on a skiing holiday in Japan. The sentence was later suspended by the local district court.

According to a report by Japanese state broadcaster NHK, customs officials at New Chitose airport were alerted to Wadia by sniffer dogs and a search revealed that he had about 25 gram of cannabis resin in his trouser pocket. Wadia was detained and admitted that the drug was for his personal consumption, the FT reported.

Ness is now back in India, and a group spokesperson said his conviction will not impact his role as directors in Wadia group companies and as the managing director of Bombay Burmah Trading Corp, a tea company. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, meanwhile, is looking at all the reports and will take a call on the accreditation of Ness as a IPL owner.

To many insiders and former officials of the group, the news about Ness has not come as a surprise. “Ness was known for flying into a rage and sacking people for minor mistakes,” said a former official asking not to be quoted. Ness, who enjoys cricket and yoga, is said to have sobered down in the recent years from his earlier avatar.

The Wadia group, which started operations 283 years ago by building ships for East India Company, is witnessing an unprecedented rise in wealth – thanks to the rise in the share price of biscuit maker, Britannia Industries, in the past five years. The Wadia family’s wealth is estimated at $7.2 billion by Bloomberg — taking both brothers, Ness, who is unmarried, and Jeh Wadia, on the India rich list at 11th position.

Ness, who owns stake in Punjab Kings XI cricket team, first made headlines in June 2014 when actor Preity Zinta complained to Mumbai Police and later to Bombay High Court against Wadia saying he attacked her just before a IPL match in June 2014. The fight between the former couple started over VIP seats at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, which were occupied by Zinta and her friends, while Ness and his mother Maureen, who arrived late, were not offered seats reserved for the Kings XI team. Ness had said his elderly mother had to keep standing, which led to the fracas between the two.

The matter was settled out of court and the Bombay High Court dismissed the case in October last year. 

An alumnus of Cathedral & John Connon School in Mumbai, Ness, who loves high-end fast cars, joined Bombay Dyeing in 1993 as a management trainee at the age of 22. In 1998, he left Mumbai for the University of Warwick to pursue a master's degree. 

After receiving his master's degree in 2001, Ness re-joined Bombay Dyeing and was promoted to joint managing director. In 2011, Ness stepped down from Bombay Dyeing after his younger brother Jeh took over as the managing director. Jeh also looks after the group’s airline business, GoAir, with Ness having no presence in the airline's board.

Old timers said going forward, the Wadia family would give all the charity work done by the various trusts of the group to Ness including renovation of a children hospital in Parel. The trusts manage several colleges in Maharashtra and Ness would run them on behalf of the family. As far as ownership is concerned, insiders said, Ness and Jeh will always own equal stake in all group companies and there will be no change in that configuration.