Daijiworld Media Network

Aug 9: Vijaypat Singhania, the man who created Raymond Ltd was once among the country’s richest men. Today, he claims to be struggling ‘hand to mouth’ and blames his son Gautam Singhania for reducing him to the unstable financial situation.

The 78-year-old has said that he handed over to Gautam shares worth Rs 1,000 crore he held in Raymond along with the wealth. Gautam took over his father’s business empire and became the MD of Raymond Group in 2000.

According to Vijaypat’s senior advocate Dinyar Madon, Gautam is driving Vijaypat "out of everything". Vijaypat, currently living in a rented row house in the posh Grand Paradi society in south Mumbai, is broke and cannot even avail a car, a driver or rent his alternate accommodation. Madon was quoted by Mumbai Mirror saying, "They are trying to squeeze him (Vijaypat Singhania) now. All his perks – like a car and a driver have been taken away."

Vijaypat Singhania recently filed a petition in Bombay High Court seeking possession of a duplex in the 36-storey JK House on Malabar Hill. In the petition, Vijaypat had accused Raymond Ltd of not handing over the possession, despite an agreement.

JK House was a 14-storey structure when it was unveiled in 1960. Four duplexes in JK House were given to a Raymond subsidiary, Pashmina Holdings before the company decided to redevelop it in 2007. The JK house was redeveloped to a 36 storey building.

According to the deal, Vijaypat Singhania and Gautam Singhania, Veenadevi — the widowed wife of Vijaypat’s brother Ajaypat Singhania, and Veendevi’s sons Anant and Akshaypat would get 5,185 sq ft each in the redeveloped building on a payment of Rs 9,000 per sq ft. While Veenadevi and Anant have filed a joint petition, Akshaypat has filed a separate petition in the Bombay High Court, laying claims to their share.

Madon told the court that Gautam was occupying all of the four duplexes, wherein only one belongs to him. He says he is laying claims on the four properties using his powers as the chief managing director.

Representing Raymond, senior advocate Janak Dwarkadas, along with senior advocate Virag Tulzapurkar and law firm Wadia Ghandy & Co submitted that Gautam had not been made a party in the petition and that it was restricted to the two companies involved -- Pashmina Holdings and Raymond Ltd.

Madon asked for an injunction against the company from creating any rights in the duplex on the 27th and 28th floor of the redeveloped JK House. He also sought Rs 7 lac per month from the company, saying that Dr Singhania was entitled to an alternate accommodation at the company's cost.

While Dwarkadas agreed to an injunction on creating third-party rights in the duplex, he objected to the demand for rent by Dr Singhania.

The court, however, also passed the injunction order with respect to the duplex claimed by Dr Singhnia and asked Raymond to file its reply by August 18, while scheduling the next hearing for August 22.