Mallya-Chhabria BDA case hearing this week

MUMBAI: A fresh concoction is brewing in the protracted legal battle between friends turned foes Vijay Mallya and Kishore Chhabria.

Two applications filed by the Chhabria group, to defend itself in a case with Mallya's United Spirits over ownership of BDA, are slated to come up for hearing at the Calcutta High Court this week.

In June 2011, almost six years after UB Group took over arch-rival Shaw Wallace, United Spirits Ltd (USL) into which Shaw Wallace was merged, moved the court seeking to replace the name Shaw Wallace with USL.

USL, which has been engaged in the legal battle with Chhabria since 1992, also moved the court to restrain Allied Blenders and Distillers(ABD) - which owns Officer's Choice brand of whisky and into which the liquor business of BDA was merged - from raising funds in the market and said that such a move would alter the shareholding pattern of ABD.

The Chhabria group's application will point out that none of the companies that originally filed the complaint in 1992 exist today and the change in the name of plaintiffs had not been reported to the court within a stipulated timeframe, therefore the case would not stand the scrutiny of law, said legal professionals familiar with the matter.

The ongoing legal tussle between the two spirit majors in India coincides with ABD seeking investments from foreign funds.