Lodha reinstated at 2 MP Birla companies

Kolkata: MP Birla Group’s current chief Harsh Vardhan Lodha has been reinstated on the board of Vindhya Telelinks and Birla Cables after the Calcutta high court quashed a stay on his reappointment as a director of the two companies.

Lodha’s reappointment and some other proposals were taken up at the annual shareholder meetings (AGMs) in 2019. But the two MP Birla companies couldn’t act upon the resolutions as the court had restrained them from publishing the voting results of the same.

Monday’s ruling clears the way for the publication of the results of various resolutions put to vote at the annual shareholder meetings of Vindhya, Birla Cables and flagship Birla Corp, and reinstates Lodha’s directorship in these companies. In the case of Birla Corp, the resolutions included dividend payout to shareholders and payment of profit-based compensation to its non-executive chairman, Lodha, for the period 2018-19.


Monday’s ruling adds a new turn to the 16-year-old legal battle between the Lodha family and some members of the Birla clan over the estate of Priyamvada Birla. Priyamvada had bequeathed her estate to Lodha’s late father Rajendra Singh Lodha.

“This is a vindication of our client’s (Lodha’s) stand that third-party companies are not party to the probate suit. It is a victory for corporate democracy as the results of the polls taken at the AGMs clearly show what 99 per cent of shareholders want,” said Fox & Mandal partner Debanjan Mandal.

However, Birlas’ counsel N G Khaitan said that the division bench of the Calcutta court has refused to go into the merits of the matter and has held that it is for the probate court to decide the same.