Anil Nanda, a former member of the governing body of Escorts Heart Institute, today moved an appeal before a division bench of the Delhi high court challenging the dismissal of his petition by the court last Thursday.
The appeal may come up for hearing early next week, Nanda said in New Delhi on Tuesday.
"Our lawyers feel that the technical issues cited by the court to reject our petition are not applicable in our case. We are not attempting a litigation against a charitable society, but are trying to convert it back into a charitable organisation," Nanda said.
Anil Nanda is the younger brother of industrialist Rajan Nanda, chairman of Escorts. He had mounted a legal challenge against his elder brother in September 2005 when Fortis Healthcare, promoted by the Singh family of Ranbaxy, acquired the hospital for Rs 650 crore (Rs 6.5 billion).
Nanda's petition contends that the conversion of Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre from a charitable institution into a limited company, which exists for profits, is illegal. However, Rajan Nanda has argued the conversion took place in 2000 and Anil was then a director on the board of the charitable society that ran the hospital. Rajan has further contended that Anil chose to move court years later, in 2005, after Escorts Heart Institute was acquired by Fortis Healthcare.
Fortis promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh had on Tuesday issued a press release welcoming the HC order dismissing Anil's plea.