Kolkata, July 27 (IANS) Birla Corp’s annual general meeting (AGM) here Monday saw high drama over who would chair the event in the backdrop of multiple legal petitions including one in the Supreme Court.
The Company Law Board (CLB) had recently prevented Harsh Vardhan Lodha, son of the late chairman R.S. Lodha, from chairing the AGM, following which he sought a stay from the country’s apex court.

R.S. Lodha was the disputed beneficiary of the M.P. Birla group chairperson Priyamvada Birla’s will that bequeathed the entire assets of the group to him.

The Supreme Court Monday refused to offer relief to Harsh Vardhan Lodha. It also directed the Calcutta High Court to hear petitions by the Lodha and Birla camps Tuesday.

“The very order of the CLB, according to the legal opinion given to us is not in the interest of the company and is not maintainable and that is why we went to the High Court first and then to the Supreme Court,” said Harsh Vardhan Lodha.

“It directed the high court to hear it (the petition) 10.30 a.m. tomorrow,” Lodha told reporters on the sidelines of the AGM.

Vikram Swarup, a director, told shareholders that the CLB had said July 22 that certain steps had to be taken while conducting the AGM.

An appeal was made to the Calcutta High Court and a special leave petition (SLP) was filed with the Supreme Court.

“The SLP was heard today and the Supreme Court has directed that the appeal against the CLB order should be heard at the high court tomorrow morning. In the light of the above, the meeting is adjourned,” Swarup added.

Earlier during the meeting, shareholders passed a resolution proposing director Pracheta Majumdar to chair the AGM.

But when he adjourned the AGM till Aug 24, the shareholders sought a vote on the matter.

Chairman R.S. Lodha died last October leaving unresolved a fierce legal fight with the Birla family over the ownership of assets of the M.P. Birla Group.

After the death of Priyamvada Birla in 2004, Lodha was appointed the chairperson of Birla Corp, and was engaged in a legal dispute over the ownership of assets including companies like Birla Corp and Universal Cables.