In a day of dramatic developments, RS Lodha on Friday filed a petition in the Calcutta high court challenging the caveats filed by Birla family members against a probate on the will of Priyamvada Birla.
At the same time, the high court started serving notices regarding the probate petition of Lodha on the will to the Birla family caveators.
Birla vs Lodha: War over a will
After the will was opened, Birla family members filed 17 separate caveats in the law courts.
The petition filed by Lodha on Friday, under the Calcutta high court's original side rules and the Hindu Succession Act, asked the court to revoke the caveats filed by the Birlas.
Debanjan Mondal of Fox & Mondal, solicitors for RS Lodha, confirmed the development.
The petition said legally each natural legal heir would get a notice and added that there was no need to file 17 caveats in the case. The Lodhas believe the filing of caveats is a strategy adopted by the Birlas to delay the grant of probate.
The case was likely to be heard by the court next week. In the meantime, high court sources said the department had started serving notice to the Birlas.
Sources indicated S K Birla, Y Birla, K K Birla and Nandini Nopany were amongst the 17 Birla family members who had filed caveats in the probate proceedings.
On July 12, 2004, Lodha read out the will of late Priyamvada Birla to the other Birla family members, bequeathing the entire property to Lodha.
The Birla family's solicitors Khaitan & Co had reiterated on Thursday that they would be challenging the will.
On July 13, Birlas declared the family would challenge the authenticity of the will. On July 14, they filed caveats in law courts in West Bengal.
On July 19, Lodha filed probate petition along with the original purported will, a 35-page affidavits of assets and an affidavit supporting the will.
On July 22, solicitors of the Birla family factions, Khaitan & Company, stated in a press meeting said that the will that was read out to their clients by R S Lodha on July 12, could not have been the will of late Priyamvada Birla.
The Birla family would challenge the probate of the will. However, both sides have spoken of keeping the settlement option open.