Rajan Mittal, a Bharti group promoter, will have to wait beyond Diwali to figure out whether he can move into 38, Amrita Shergil Marg, an expensive address in the capital. While the Delhi High Court, which is overseeing the auction of the property, was scheduled to hear the case today, it got deferred to November 27 as the judge, ML Mehta, was unwell, it is learnt. The 3,500-sq yard bungalow has been under litigation since 1980, according to a lawyer dealing with the case.
The delay in the hearing may present a technical problem in the case, lawyers pointed out. According to the terms of the auction, Mittal is supposed to make the remaining 75 per cent of the bid amount by November 5— within 60 days of the auction. With the next hearing fixed for a date that is beyond the payment deadline, there was much anticipation today on how that should be dealt with. Mittal has already paid 25 per cent of the total of Rs 156.5 crore that he bid.
The race for the coveted bungalow at Amrita Shergil, which commands sky-rocketing prices and houses many other industrialists including Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Mittal, is considered to be between Rajan Mittal and co-owner of the property, Shivraj Kishan Gupta, according to people close to the development.
Shivraj Kishan 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.
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, 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, and PV Kapoor for Shivraj Kishan 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.
