Mumbai: This is not a reel story extracted from one of the Bollywood flicks but of a wealthy man worth over Rs 1000 Crore not so long ago, who added class to Indian men’s wardrobe for over 2 decades. Dr. Vijayapath Singhania, the man who built Raymond Empire is now broke, and by his own admission is living a “hand-to-mouth” existence.
The man, who had once been one of the richest industrialists in India, is currently living in a rented accommodation in Mumbai, costing Rs 7 Lakh a month, according to Economic Times.
His present condition is because of his son who has refused to fully honour an arbitration award over a property dispute among the family members. Vijaypat Singhania also claimed that Gautam Singhania is running Raymond like a personal fiefdom, leaving the 78-year-old out of it, without even paying for his rented accommodation at company’s cost.
Vijaypath petitioned with the Bombay High Court claiming Raymond Ltd had not yet given him possession of a duplex in the multi-storey J K House building in Mumbai as promised. The matter here relates to a duplex that Vijaypat Singhania claims has not been handed over to him despite an agreement.
Four duplexes in J K House were given to a Raymond subsidiary, Pashmina Holdings before the company decided to redevelop it in 2007. All the parties in dispute have reportedly said they were open to the court’s suggestion. Along with Vijaypat, his late brother Ajaypat Singhania’s widow and his two sons too petitioned to demand possession of the duplexes promised to them in J K House building, which has been a family property.
Dinyar Madon has alleged that Gautam Singhania has seemingly occupied all the four duplexes himself by laying claims on it in the name of his powers as the CMD of the company. It must be noted here that 78-year-old Vijaypath Singhania had given up all his shares in the company worth around Rs 1,000 Crore to his son Gautam Singhania.
“Such matters should not have reached the courts in the first place. These are disputes between a father and son. Try and resolve it amicably,” Justice Kulkarni was quoted as saying by new agency PTI.
The court, however, also passed the injunction order with respect to the duplex claimed by Dr. Singhania and asked Raymond to file its reply by August 18, while scheduling the next hearing for August 22.
