London court accepts daughter Vinoo as SP Hinduja's legal friend

MUMBAI: A London court has recognised Vinoo Hinduja, the daughter of Hinduja Group chairman Srichand Parmanand (SP) Hinduja, as his ‘litigation friend’ to safeguard his interests, since he is said to be suffering from a form of dementia.The dispute, which was not in the public domain before Tuesday’s court ruling, was triggered after SP Hinduja sought to repudiate an agreement with his three brothers dated July 2, 2014. The agreement said the “brothers appoint each other as their executors, and that the assets held in any single brother’s name belongs to all four”.The dispute is also potentially precedent-setting because it involves the rights of female inheritors — often a contentious issue in many business families. 76615648Vinoo, the younger daughter of SP Hinduja, wants the July 2014 agreement to be declared “null and void”, as per a Bloomberg news report. The petition moved by her also does not want that document to be recognised as SP Hinduja’s will.The immediate bone of contention appears to be SP Hinduja’s ownership in Switzerland-based Hinduja Bank. Further, SP Hinduja’s other assets would also be transferred to Vinoo and her sister if she were to prevail in the legal dispute.The other Hinduja brothers — Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok — contend that the assets are jointly owned, and ownership should vest with a family trust.As per the UK’s Mental Capacity Act, 2005, if someone does not have the capacity in relation to a matter, a ‘litigation friend’ can initiate the proceedings. The High Court of England and Wales has also recognised Vinoo as a ‘litigation friend’.Two More Cases UnderwayTwo other legal proceedings are also said to be underway — one in the UK and the second in Switzerland. According to people familiar with the matter, SP Hinduja’s brothers approached a London court three weeks ago, seeking to meet the family patriarch to ascertain his state of mind.There is also said to be a case in Switzerland, where the nub of contention is whether SP Hinduja’s ownership should be transferred to a family trust or to his daughters. ET was unable to ascertain more details about these cases.The people cited earlier said the three Hinduja brothers are engaged in hectic discussions with Vinoo to persuade her to withdraw the lawsuit and accept the family arrangement about sharing of assets agreed upon years ago.FAMILY TALKSSources close to the discussions said the brothers, who are stranded in different parts of the world due to Covid 19-induced travel restrictions, have started family-level talks to settle issues with Vinoo and Shanu. Shanu is the elder daughter of SP Hinduja.One of the persons cited earlier said that all the other second-generation Hinduja clan members are willing to proceed on the principle that assets of one brother belonged to all, and not to any individual. 76615652These sources also denied there was any family arrangement that barred female succession, pointing out that Vinoo used to be on the boards of several Hinduja Group companies.Emailed queries to the lawyers of both SP Hinduja as well as the other brothers in the UK remained unanswered till press time Wednesday. The queries sought details of the nature of the reliefs sought by Vinoo, on behalf of SP Hinduja, as well as information on the nature of the dispute.“It’s a family affair, so talks have been initiated within the family to resolve all disputes amicably,” said a person close to the Hinduja family. “This issue has been simmering for some time. The progress of these talks got complicated because the senior Hinduja brothers are not in London due to travel restrictions.”STATEMENT FROM BROTHERSA statement signed by the other three Hinduja brothers — Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok — issued on Wednesday morning contested SP Hinduja’s claim.“It is very unfortunate that these proceedings are taking place as they go against our founder’s and family’s values and principles that have stood for many decades, especially, ‘everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone’,” the statement said.“We intend to defend the claim to uphold these dearly held family values. We would also stress that this litigation will not have any impact on our global businesses, which will continue to function as they have been,” the statement added.Sources close to the family said SP Hinduja does not automatically become the owner of Hinduja Bank as his status as the licence holder was largely due to the law in force at that time in Switzerland.As per Swiss laws, only one person can be named for the purpose of seeking a licence. In 1994, the group had decided on SP Hinduja since he was the family patriarch.According to the Geneva-based Hinduja Bank’s website, SP Hinduja is now the chairman emeritus while Vinoo’s sister Shanu SP Hinduja is the chairwoman.The judge in London also ruled that by consent order, the parties have accepted the jurisdiction of the English High Court to adjudicate this matter, which means the case is likely to proceed to trial, said legal experts.

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