Dayanidhi Maran Steps Back from Legal Battle; Will It Put Family Feud on Pause?

The dispute between the Maran brothers is likely to ease as former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran has withdrawn the legal notice against his elder brother Kalanithi Maran, the Times of India reported. The development might be due to Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin’s role as a mediator between the two brothers in July. 

“Yes, the notice has been withdrawn. All issues between the brothers have been sorted out,” TOI reported, citing a source close to the development.

The dispute between the Maran brothers gained momentum after Dayanidhi Maran, in a legal notice, had accused his brother Kalanithi Maran and several others of “fraudulent practices” and “misgovernance” in taking control of Sun TV after their father’s death. Additionally, he had alleged that Kalanithi Maran allotted 12 lakh equity shares of Sun TV at a price of Rs 10 each to his name with proper assessment. He had accused his brother of illegal transfer of shares worth thousands of crores and breach of trust. 

“In other words, No 1 of you [Kalanithi] allotted 60% of the shares without any consultation or approval from the existing majority/promoter original shareholders at face value of Rs 10 each,” the Deccan Herald had earlier reported, citing the legal notice. 

Dayanidhi Maran, who is also a member of parliament from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), had asked his brother to restore Sun TV’s shareholding pattern that was in place in 2003. In his legal notice, the DMK MLA had given several warnings to his brother, including reaching out to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for cancellation of all licenses held by the Sun Group and approaching the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for cancellation of the operational license granted to SpiceJet. Besides this, he had also threatened to approach statutory bodies like the securities and exchange board of India and the enforcement directorate to initiate civil, criminal and regulatory proceedings.