Even as Bharti Group promoter Rajan Bharti Mittal has filed papers in a district court for the transfer of 38, Amrita Shergil Marg, in his name, it is learnt Shivraj Kishan Gupta, one of the co-owners of the property, has moved the Supreme Court, appealing against the Delhi High Court’s recent order upholding the auction of the property in which Mittal was the highest bidder.
It is expected the Supreme Court would take up Gupta’s appeal on Monday.
Meanwhile, about 75 per cent of the co-owners of the property are learnt to have supported Mittal. They told the district court they wanted the case to be settled in Mittal’s favour, according to lawyers close to the development.
On February 1, the high court had upheld an auction in which Mittal was the highest bidder (his bid was for Rs 156.5 crore). This is one of the biggest residential real estate deals in recent times.
The 3,500-sq yard bungalow on Amrita Shergil Marg, a road that houses various industrialists, including Rajan Mittal’s brother and Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, has been under litigation since 1980. Though Shivraj Kishan Gupta’s bid of Rs 165 crore was higher than Mittal’s, it came after the Mittal tender was opened. The auction was challenged by Gupta.
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 passed away. Shivraj, the main litigant, is the heir of Brij Kishan. Gopal Kishan’s son Balraj Kishan and daughter Anjali were also fighting the case. The auction was triggered by a property dispute among the Gupta brothers. The first partition suit was filed in the high court in 1980.
A number of lawyers have argued in the case. While V P Singh is Mittal’s lawyer, Niki Kantawala is arguing for Chandra Kishan Gupta. Sangeeta Jain is Shivraj Kishan Gupta’s lawyer.
