Hinduja brothers – the UK’s richest family with an estimated fortune of GBP 28.472 billion in the 2022 ‘Sunday Times Rich List’ – have called a truce on a bitter power struggle. The UK-based Hinduja brothers were locked in a legal dispute in the High Court in England over their billionaire family assets and have now reached a confidential agreement, a London court ruling published on Friday showed.
The case was brought by 86-year-old Srichand Hinduja, described as the “patriarch” of the family, against his brothers G P Hinduja, P P Hinduja and A P Hinduja and surrounded the “validity and effect” of a letter dated July 2, 2014. It pertained to the billionaire family’s “everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone” maxim
The case has undergone legal proceedings since November 2019.
The Court of Appeal in London largely rejected an appeal over restrictions on reporting the dispute, which was contested in a specialist court in a case which centred on the health of the 86-year-old patriarch. Lord Justice Peter Jackson, Lord Justice Baker and Lord Justice Warby in the Court of Appeal Civil Division noted that there has been an agreement in the case and proceeded to lift much of the reporting restrictions.
The judgement stated that the family reached a confidential agreement concerning the Chancery proceedings and other litigation abroad on June 30, 2022.
A consent order was filed in those proceedings on July 1, 2022, the judgment added. “For many years the family presented a united front to the world under the striking code ‘everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone’. Unfortunately, family differences have led to various legal proceedings,” it read.
Stating that the family looks forward to continuing a harmonious relationship in the future, a spokesperson for the Hindujas said, “The Hinduja family matter regarding the health and welfare of S P [Srichand P Hinduja] has already been resolved amicably between all parties and today’s judgement solely concerned whether those matters should remain private.”
“Whilst Srichand Hinduja was a man who preferred privacy, he also recognised the expediency of publicity when that was identified as necessary. Here, for the reasons above, publicity is expedient,” the Court of Appeal judges ruled.
The rulings published on Friday also highlight that the family in June told the court to end “all disputes existing between them in all jurisdictions”, including one which began at London’s High Court in 2019 over the Hinduja family’s assets.
Patriarch Srichand had asked the court to rule that a July 2014 letter signed by him and his three brothers Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok saying that any assets held in their names belonged to all four of them, had no “legal effect”.
What is the July 2014 letter case?
The case over the “validity and effect” of a letter dated July 2, 2014, was brought by SP against his brothers. The letter in questions includes statements to the effect that the brothers appoint each other as their executors, and that assets held in any single brother’s name belong to all four. In short, they stick to its age-old motto that “everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone.”
In November 2019, Srichand approached the Business and Property Court in London and sought to declare the letter revocable. The move was opposed by his three brothers who contended that SP’s daughter Vinoo Hinduja is representing him (litigation friend) in the proceedings.
In the case, Srichand’s wife Madhu and the other daughter Shanu acted as witnesses to vouch that Vinoo has been appointed as Srichand’s litigation friend.
In a June 2020 judgement, Justice Sarah Falk who was presiding over the judgment said, “SP seeks a declaration that neither document has legal effect, whether as a will, power of attorney, declaration of trust or other binding document, or alternatively that the documents are revocable and have been revoked.”
She confirmed Vinoo as Srichand’s litigation friend. She was told that Srichand has “age-related disease” and cannot conduct these proceedings.
It is worth mentioning here that two years prior to the judgement in July 2018, the three brothers tried to take control of the Hinduja Bank that was in the name of Srichand. They were of the view that Srichand lacked capacity.
A 2020 judgment in that case said that his three siblings had relied on the 2014 letter “as a basis for seeking to take control of Hinduja Bank, an asset in [Srichand’s] sole name”.
The Hinduja Group operates in many sectors, employs some 200,000 people around the world, and asserts that it strives to inculcate the family concept into its business enterprises, Friday’s judgment noted.
