Pune: Supreme Court Halts Ongoing Cases, Orders Mediation In Kalyani Family Dispute
Pune: Supreme Court Halts Ongoing Cases, Orders Mediation In Kalyani Family Dispute
Pune, July 13, 2026: The long standing dispute between Kalyani siblings has now been referred to mediation. A three member bench of Supreme Court of India presided over by Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant directed the siblings to participate in mediation. The court appointed former judge of Supreme Court, Justice L Nageswara Rao as the mediator.
The order passed on Monday, July 13 by Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana, comes in the backdrop of multiple litigations pending between the Kalyani siblings – Baba Kalyani (77), Sugandha Hiremath (74), and Gaurishankar Kalyani (72) – and their family members. The matter reached SC after Sugandha Hiremath nee Kalyani moved court against an order passed by Bombay High Court on May 4, 2026, rejecting mediation between Kalyani siblings. In the HC, Baba Kalyani had refused to participate in mediation citing multiple grounds, which led the court to pass a judgement stating that mediation cannot be forced upon.
The Kalyani family members have been involved in bitter legal disputes for over a decade over ancestral wealth. Apart from the suit in HC, there are several litigations pending in several forums, including civil suits for partition of joint family assets, and probate proceedings. At stake, is ancestral wealth estimated to be over ₹1 lakh crores. In the pot is vast immovable properties and several listed companies under the Kalyani Group, which are largely under the control of Baba Kalyani and Gaurishankar Kalyani.
When the matter came up for hearing in SC on Monday, Hiremath was represented by Karanjawala & Co, RJD & Partners and Senior Counsel Shyam Divan. The other side had stalwarts and senior counsels AM Singhvi, Kapil Sibal and Aryama Sundaram.
The court began the hearing by stating that mediation in the case was taking to getting an unwilling horse to a pond. Counsels for Baba stated that previous mediation attempts had failed and that the mediation request was raised by Sugandha at a critical juncture of one of the cases.
The bench, however insisted that parties must consider mediation. The CJI remarked that mediation will succeed only when stalwarts from either side step in and help in the same, indicating that counsels from both sides should prevail upon Kalyani siblings to resolve the disputes. The court also remarked that all sides being billionaires must focus on constructive things.
The bench also gave an example of mediation between two brothers from business families succeeding after the older brother said he did not want any of the wealth and wished that his younger one touches his feet and accord him the much deserved respect. The bench stated that after the younger one touched older brothers feet, both the brothers broke down and put an end to their long pending dispute. “Such is the miracle and magic of mediation,” the bench remarked.
Baba Kalyani’s side insisted that the mediation should be time bound that proceedings in High Court should continue during this time. The SC bench, however, ordered that all proceedings will be stayed during the course of mediation. The bench ordered that siblings must approach Justice L Nageswara Rao without any delay and the mediation attempt must begin from tomorrow, while citing that there is a possibility of settlement.
The matter has been listed two weeks from now.
