A blow to the Birlas: Calcutta High Court rules that Harsh Vardhan Lodha will remain Chairman of the MP Birla Group.

On Thursday, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court unanimously overturned a single judge's three-year-old ruling in favour of Harsh Vardhan Lodha's continued position as chairman of the Rs 16,000 crore MP Birla Group. In their ongoing legal battle with the Lodha family over the late Priyamvada Devi Birla's estate, the Birla family suffers a setback with the most recent ruling. According to those close to the Birla family, the family is expected to appeal the verdict in the Supreme Court, paving the way for the last chapter in the 19-year legal battle between the two legendary business families.A panel of three administrators, one each nominated by the Lodha and Birla families and a retired judge, had previously been granted full authority by a single judge of the Calcutta High Court to assume control of the entire estate of the late Priyamvada Devi Birla, the former chairperson of the MP Birla Group, who passed away on July 3, 2004. A judge issued an order in September 2020 mandating Harsh Vardhan Lodha's removal from his position as MP Birla Group chairman due to disagreements over the meaning of "extended estate." The MP Birla Group consists of the publicly traded flagship Birla Corporation, which is valued at approximately Rs 10,835.42 crore; 12 hospitals, including Bellevue Clinic Kolkata and Bombay Hospital Trust; 11 academic institutions, including MP Birla Higher Secondary School and South Point School; and the MP Birla Planetarium.