Arguments in a court case over the race for a coveted bungalow at Amrita Shergil Marg here between Rajan Mittal, a Bharti group promoter, and Shivraj Kishan Gupta, co-owner of the property, were concluded on Wednesday and a judgement is likely to be pronounced next week.
The Delhi High Court, which was overseeing the auction of the property, heard the case on Wednesday and reserved its judgement, according to a lawyer dealing with the case.
The 3,500-sq yard bungalow at the Amrita Shergill Marg, which houses many other industrialists such as Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal has been under litigation since 1980.
Rajan Mittal had bid for the bungalow at Rs 156.5 crore, but Gupta bid higher at Rs 165 crore after the Mittal tender was opened. The owner/co-owner had the option of improving upon the bid. Mittal has already paid 25 per cent of the total of Rs 156.5 crore he bid.
The third party to participate in the auction was K D Singh, owner of the Alchemist group and Rajya Sabha member from the Trinamool Congress. His bid was around Rs 140.5 crore, just a notch above the reserve price of Rs 140 crore.
The case can be traced back to four Gupta brothers—Brij Kishan Gupta, Chandra Kishan Gupta, Gopal Kishan Gupta and Avtar Kishan Gupta. Two of them--Brij Kishan and Gopal Kishan--have expired. Shivraj Kishan Gupta, the main litigant, is the heir of Brij Kishan. Gopal Kishan’s son Balraj Kishan and daughter Anjali are also fighting the case.
More than half a dozen lawyers, including senior advocates Sandeep Sethi on behalf of Mittal, PV Kapoor for Shivraj Kishan Gupta, Niki Kantewala for C K Gupta are arguing the case. The auction was triggered by property dispute among the Gupta brothers. The first partition suit was filed in the Delhi High Court in 1980.
