Round One to Lodha as Birlas are told to file original will ...

R S Lodha has won the first round of his battle against the Birla family in the war of competing wills over the assets of the M P Birla.

Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta of the Calcutta High Court today dismissed two petitions filed by G P Birla, Kashinath Tapuria and Pradip Khaitan seeking to produce notarised photocopies of the two wills of late M P Birla and Priyamvada Birla executed in 1982.

While dismissing the petitions, the judge ordered that "original wills" would have to be filed along with the probate application. The court directed to file original wills to the court within seven days from receiving the copy of order.

On August 19, the two petitions were filed in the court seeking "leave to produce the notarised photo copy of the wills of M P Birla and his wife Priyamvada Birla made on 1982 with the under taking to produced the original if court requires.

The petitions also contains other prayers. "Alternatively accept the application for grant of probate filed by the petitioners by depositing the original will with the direction that those will kept safe custody of the Registrar, original side, High Court, Calcutta", the petition had prayed.

The petition was filed on the ground that the case generated intense public interest. It was alleged the department of the court had leaked out materials which had published in the news media.

The judge of course had condemned this allegation.

The petitions said the probate petitions were filed to eliminate all posible risk and danger of the orginal will being lost, damaged or defaced.

Instead of orginal will, an order should be passed to permit the Birla side to file photocopies of the wills along with the probate petitions.

R S Lodha opposed the petitions on the grounds that under the act, the original will must be filed with the probate petitions.