Hiremath Eyes Third of Family Fortune, Sparks Inheritance Clash Between Kalyani Group Siblings

Kalyani Group chairman Babasaheb Kalyani’s sister Sugandha Hiremath has claimed rights to a third of all Kalyani family assets in the petition filed by her in the Pune Civil Court. The petition viewed by the Mint revealed that Hiremath’s claim includes shares in the conglomerate’s listed companies like Bharat Forge and Kalyani Steels, and private properties like land, real estate and jewellery. 

The petition was filed by Hiremath in September last year and is not available in the public domain.  

Hiremath stated in the petition that all the conglomerate’s businesses are funded by Kalyani Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), which dates to her grandfather Annappa Narayan Kalyani’s time, according to a report by the Mint. She claimed that all assets of the Babasaheb Kalyani-led conglomerate belong to HUF, of which she is a coparcener as well apart from her brothers. 

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Additionally, Hiremath’s co-promoted company, Hikal Ltd said in a statement on the national stock exchange (NSE) that according to family agreements, Kalyani Group shares in the company should be transferred to her. However, the conglomerate’s company Kalyani Investment, which holds a 31.36 per cent stake in Hikal, has disputed the authenticity of the agreement. 

“The late Mr. Neelkanth A. Kalyani had entered into two family agreements in the years 1993 and 1994 with his son, Mr. Baba Kalyani for the purpose of distribution/ re-distribution/transfer of not only the shares of the families’ flagship companies...These family agreements are valid and subsisting even as on date,” said Hikal Ltd. in a letter filed on exchanges on January 13. 

Sibling Rivalry Erupts Over Family Wealth 

Hiremath’s claim in the HUF goes back to a lawsuit filed by her in 2012, where she had asked to be made a co-parcener of the Neelkanth Annappa Kalyani HUF. In the petition filed by her last year, she pointed out that she was misled into believing that Neelkanth Annappa Kalyani HUF was the only HUF of the family. 

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However, Babasaheb Kalyani reportedly refuted the existence of any Kalyani HUF. Additionally, he claimed that Kalyani Group’s Bharat Forge was built by him all alone. 

The property dispute amongst the three siblings i.e., Gaurishankar Kalyani, Baba Kalyani and Sugandha Kalyani, became worse after the demise of their mother, Sulochana Kalyani, in 2023. In March 2024, children of Sugandha Hiremath went to court demanding one-ninth of the Kalyani Group’s assets, valued around Rs 65,000 crore to Rs 70,000 crore. 

Consequently, Baba Kalyani rejected their claims via an affidavit, citing that Sugandha Hiremath’s children were not part of the Kalyani joint family as they lacked a common male ancestor. 

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