Delhi Sessions Court overturns trial court ruling, summons Samir Modi in a defamation case by two Godfrey Phillips independent directors.
The directors claim Samir’s media statements last year were false and harmful, citing CCTV evidence against him.
Case marks another escalation in the protracted Modi family dispute over control of Godfrey Phillips and the KK Modi Group assets.
The long-running dispute within the Modi family over control of Godfrey Phillips India has taken another turn, with a Delhi Sessions Court summoning Samir Modi in connection with defamation proceedings.
The court set aside a trial order that had earlier rejected the plea, observing there was prima facie ‘sufficient evidence’ to issue summons. The case has been brought by independent directors Nirmala Bagri and Atul Kumar Gupta, who allege that statements made by Samir to the media last year tarnished their reputations.
The directors contend that Samir’s allegations centred on a board meeting in May 2024 and a subsequent police complaint against his mother’s personal security officer were unfounded and contradicted by CCTV footage showing him as the aggressor. Godfrey Phillips had, at the time, dismissed Samir’s claims as ‘entirely false and atrocious.’
The Sessions Court’s decision follows a criminal revision plea filed by the two directors after the trial court’s dismissal of their complaint in May. Samir will now be required to appear before the court.
The case is the latest in a string of corporate and legal skirmishes over the KK Modi Group’s assets, estimated to be worth more than ₹11,000 crore. Godfrey Phillips, best known for manufacturing cigarette brands such as Four Square and Red & White, and with a growing footprint in the FMCG sector has been at the heart of the power struggle between Samir Modi and his mother, Bina Modi.
Tensions within the family have been public since at least 2019, when disagreements over the division of the group’s assets spilled into the courts. The acrimony deepened last year when Samir accused Bina and other members of orchestrating a campaign against him, an allegation they have consistently denied.
At the company’s 87th Annual General Meeting earlier this year, Bina secured reappointment as Managing Director with 86.64% shareholder backing. Her daughter, Charu Modi, was simultaneously appointed Executive Director. Samir, meanwhile, lost his board seat after over 99% of shareholders voted for his removal, leaving him without formal influence in the company’s decision-making.
With the Sessions Court now reviving the directors’ defamation complaint, the dispute looks set to play out on yet another front, this time, in the criminal courts.
