Vijaypat Singhania's Rs 1041 cr gift to son Gautam triggers war over assets

The grandchildren claim a deal signed between their parents and Vijaypat Singhania deprives them of their ancestral wealth

A gift of a 37 per cent stake worth Rs 1,041 crore in textile and garment retailer Raymond by Vijaypat Singhania to his youngest son, Gautam, this February prompted his Singapore-based grandchildren to move the Bombay high court for a division of his assets.

On February 9, Vijaypat, 76, told the company he intended to transfer 24,290 shares in JK Investors (Bombay) Ltd and 9,996 shares of Smart Investments Private Ltd, which collectively hold a 37.17 per cent stake in Raymond. The shares were to be gifted to his son Gautam, 48, for continuity of management and to align ownership interest, said a communication by Raymond to the stock exchanges. The Singhanias own 40 per cent of Raymond.

A Raymond spokesperson declined to comment on the suit by Vijaypat’s grandchildren. In 1998, Vijaypat and his elder son, Madhupati, 56, parted ways, with the latter taking over the international businesses of the group. Vijaypat retained the India-centred businesses, including flagship Raymond. Soon, Gautam was running the operations of the group as the chairman and managing director, with Vijaypat as emeritus chairman. Last April, Gautam’s wife Nawaz also joined the Raymond board. The company's financial performance since the split in 1998 has been muted and its sales and profits have stagnated.

Vijaypat’s four grandchildren, Ananya (29), Rasaalika (26), Tarini (20), and Raivat Hari (18), have sued their grandfather and Raymond. Their parents, Madhupati and Anuradha, are a party to the suit, saying Vijaypat had no authority to sign away their children’s ancestral rights. The case is based on Hindu family law, which dictates inheritance issues, among others.

The grandchildren have challenged the 17-year family agreement Madhupati and Anuradha had signed in December 1998 with Vijaypat, giving up their own and their children’s rights to the Raymond empire, as well as various other assets, including real estate. The grandchildren claimed they were informed of the agreement only when the youngest of the four turned 18.

Madhupati and Anuradha were allegedly forced to gift valuable properties in the form of shares of Raymond and immovable properties then, which were grossly undervalued, a newspaper report on Sunday said. It added they were forced to give up their shareholding in all family businesses.

The siblings have also said that ancestral jewellery was grossly undervalued in the agreement and have demanded an inventory to ascertain its true value.

The grandchildren claimed Vijaypat was not the founder of the group, but had inherited it and that their parents and they, too, were entitled to a similar inheritance. They have asked the court to nulligy the sale, transfer, or any other gift made during that time. The matter will be heard in coming weeks.