Ranbaxy-Max India feud turned bitter since '95

The property dispute in the Ranbaxy-Max India family has been turning murkier by the day, but it all started on a modest note in 1973.

That was the year in which patriarch Bhai Mohan Singh, his wife Avtar Mohan Singh and three sons "� late Parvinder Singh, Manjit Singh and Analjit Singh "� pooled their portions of land to form a company, Delhi Guest House Ltd (DGH), to start a hotel.

According to documents filed by Ranbaxy Chief Executive Malvinder Singh with the Delhi High Court, the family members had transferred their portions of the property to DGH in exchange of its shares.

According to him, it was only on the instruction of the joint family that the Land and Development Office had granted a single lease of the entire property "� 2.6 acre on Aurangzeb Road and South End Lane in New Delhi "� in the company's name.

However, the purpose for which DGH was formed could not be achieved as the family did not get the permission for the hotel.

"The property though continued in the name of the company, there being no dispute and differences between the members of the family," he said.

After about 20 years, the united family agreed to go in for an amicable settlement to separate the assets to avoid dispute.

The oral settlement, after joint consultations, was recorded on December 30, 1989, in a memorandum of family settlement, which provided that Parvinder, the elder son, and his family would get the property on 1 South End Lane comprising 2,420 square yards of land, along with an independent dwelling unit, and Manjit was also given a similar property on 2 South End Lane, the petition submitted.

The main house at 15 Aurangzeb Road went to the parents and the adjacent open land (commonly called the tennis court plot) to Analjit. However, Analjit was allowed to reside in a portion of the main house having a separate entrance until he constructed his house on the plot.

As it was difficult to do any construction on the plot, with the father's consent, Analjit was allowed to occupy the main house falling in their parents' share-minus some areas.

Since Analjit's share was bigger than his brothers, it was decided that the tennis court plot would be divided between Parvinder and Manjit. Bhai Mohan Singh had also confirmed the settlement in his letter dated September 18, 2003.

According to Malvinder, retired Chief Justice of India E S Venkatramaihia, the arbitrator, had upheld the family settlement and held that Parvinder was entitled to all what had fallen under his share and Bhai Mohan Singh was liable to implement the same.

However, Bhai Mohan Singh had filed his objection to the award in the court, but he later withdrew the petition.

As Bhai Mohan Singh had failed to comply with the award, Parvinder filed an execution petition against his father, thus marking the beginning of the never-ending series of petitions against each other since 1995.