Bina Modi withdraws contempt plea against sons Lalit and Samir Modi

Godfrey Phillips director Bina Modi on Monday withdrew the contempt petition against her sons, Lalit and Samir Modi, from the Supreme Court.

Bina Modi’s lawyer informed the court that she will not press contempt charges against her son Samir's allegations that she assaulted him during a board meeting.

Samir Modi, the executive director of Godfrey Phillips, had accused his mother of orchestrating an attack on him to gain leverage in the ongoing inheritance dispute.

She had filed a plea against both Lalit and Samir for their disobedience of the Supreme Court's order of August 1, 2022, which instructed the parties not to make disparaging statements on social media during mediation. The contempt plea is part of the family feud over the Rs 11,000 crore fortune of the late KK Modi.

Lalit Modi had moved the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court judgment that the anti-arbitration injunction lawsuit filed by Bina Modi against her son is maintainable. The apex court had appointed former top court judge Justice RV Raveendran as a mediator to settle the family property dispute between the mother-son duo, which ultimately failed.

The inheritance dispute centres on KK Modi’s extensive holdings, including a significant share in Godfrey Phillips and other family companies. Following KK Modi's death in 2019, Samir Modi has contested his mother’s management of the family’s affairs in the Supreme Court. Despite previously receiving an offer from his mother to buy his stake, Samir Modi now refuses to exit and has accused her of not distributing funds as outlined in his father's trust deed.

The inheritance includes nearly 50 per cent of Godfrey Phillips, valued at over Rs 5,500 crore, and shares in other group companies across various sectors such as cosmetics, retail, and direct selling.