In a new development in the Kalyani family saga, Sugandha Hiremath, sister of industrialists Baba Kalyani and Gaurishankar Kalyani, has approached the Pune court seeking a partition of the family’s HUF properties. Hiremath recently filed an application to amend her 2012 lawsuit to declare herself a co-parcener and has now sought a partition of the family HUFs, while also submitting a further affidavit in another partition suit filed by Sheetal Kalyani in 2014.

In her affidavits, Sugandha Hiremath recounted how, for years, she was led to believe that the family had no significant wealth or assets in its HUFs. She stated that since 2011, when Baba Kalyani assumed the role of Karta from their father, Dr Neelkanth Kalyani, he gave her the impression that she would receive her rightful share. However, she has now alleged that Baba Kalyani kept all documents related to the family’s wealth to himself and never revealed the true extent of the assets.

She stated that, trusting Baba’s account, she believed the only asset in the family’s possession was a prime plot in the upscale Kalyani Nagar area of Pune, which housed their family home where their late mother lived. However, she claimed that after Baba Kalyani took over as the Karta of the family, his attitude shifted.

“However, due to the close relationship and due to the belief in the abilities of Defendant No. 3, the Plaintiff had almost blind faith on Defendant No.3 (Baba), believing that her brother will not deprive her of her legitimate and legal rights in the properties, funds, assets and investments of joint family,” the affidavit states.

⁠It was only recently, when there was attempt to take over Hikal Ltd, a company controlled by her husband and family, that she dug deeper. “It is only in 2023, when Defendant No.3 attempted to usurp the Plaintiff’s company from her family, did the Plaintiff realize that Defendant No.3 had no intention to look after anyone’s interest but his own and that Defendant No.3 would go to any extent to deprive his siblings and family members of their share in the family’s assets,” states her affidavit.

⁠Her son Sameer Hiremath and daughter Pallavi Swadi, also filed for partition recently in 2024 of the family wealth. “When the children of the Plaintiff investigated into the properties which are presently held by the members of the Kalyani family and their history, the Plaintiff realized that the HUF of the Kalyani family has been in existence since the time of her grandfather Shri Annappa Narayan Kalyani, who himself was holding ancestral properties and funds. These facts led to the fact that the joint family nucleus in the form of landed properties, liquid funds, investments, shares and various forms of businesses was in existence even prior to Dr. Neelkanth Annappa Kalyani,” states her affidavit.

⁠Sugandha Hiremath has listed 250 companies, which includes all listed and unlisted companies under Baba and Gaurishankar Kalyani’s banners. The companies alone have market cap of around ₹1 lakh crore. She has also listed 76 immovable properties, while seeking her share. She is now seeking a share as a coparcener in everything that any of the family member owns is from the family nucleus.

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