Pune: Baba Kalyani has duped me again: Sugandha Hiremath to court

The real intention of Sugandha Hiremath appears to be to secure entry to the plot of land owned by a private company in which she has no rights. Despite these unforeseen turn of events, Kalyani remains committed to resolving family disputes in a peaceful and dignified manner, said spokesperson of Baba Kalyani.

The Kalyani family matriarch’s samadhi saga seems to be never ending. After many twists and turns over the building of samadhi of Sulochana Kalyani, the case has taken an ugly turn with Sugandha Hiremath calling her brother Baba Kalyani “a terribly ungrateful son, a ruthless brother and a selfish Karta”. 

On Thursday, March 6, when the case came up for hearing in Pune civil court, Sugandha’s counsel narrated how Baba had taken several u turns over the samadhi issue. In November 2024, he had written to Sugandha stating that she should build the samadhi at Parvati Nivas, where their mother lived. After Sugandha filed the suit, Baba’s counsel produced a letter in court on February 13 in which Baba had suggested that he, Sugandha, and their younger sibling Gaurishankar meet and consult their family guru over building the samadhi, indicating that he was willing to build one.

The meeting was scheduled to be held on February 20 at the samadhi site in Keshav Nagar, Pune. While Sugandha reached the site along with her husband Jai Hiremath, Baba did not show up. Another round of allegations ensued in court the same day and judge hearing the case once requested both sides to meet the same day and try to find a resolution.

The brother and sister met the same day. During this meeting, according to Sugandha’s affidavit, Baba told her that he had already built their mother’s samadhi at a math in Kashi. Sugandha visited the math a few days later only to find that there was only a small shilling placed with a lakh plus others, which does not qualify for a samadhi.

On March 6, her counsel took a though stand and accused Baba of not just lying to his sister but also to court. “I had once again been duped by my brother, who on 20th February 2025 blatantly lied to me and misrepresented to me that he had already constructed Samadhis for my parents. It is utterly shameful for Baba to be making wilfully false statements on matters that are sub-judice before this Hon’ble Court, and I request this Hon’ble Court not to countenance the same,” Sugandha’s affidavit stated.

The affidavit launches a scathing attack of the industrialist who finds his name in Forbes list of India’s richest and is also a Padma Bhushan awardee. “My grievance is also on account of the fact that Baba is trying to deceive me on a topic which is so very sensitive, and which concerns the last rites of our parents and their rest in peace. I thought that he would at least have the decency to respect our parents, but I was wrong,” it stated.

“After my visit to Kashi, I have realized that my brother is completely full of lies and his intention at all times is to deceive me and protect his false image. I do not understand why the Defendant

is going to such lengths to compromise his own mother’s final peace and deny our parents their ultimate wish of being made to rest together. I expressly state that my intention in filing this captioned Suit is to honour my mother’s wishes of being laid to rest next to her husband. Baba’s objective is to deny my mother’s wish solely because of his own anger towards her over other matters,” it added.

During the hearing Baba’s counsel told the court that their intent was to amicably resolve the issue but Sugandha does not seem to want one. The counsel told the court that his side would soon be filing a response to the allegations made by Sugandha. The case has now been kept for hearing in April.

Baba Kalyani’s Spokesperson Responds To The Allegations. The detailed response to the matters raised till date. 

Sudden U-Turns by Sugandha Hiremath: 

A Masterclass in Flip-Flopping

• Suit barred under Section 9 of CPC does not fall under the jurisdiction of civil courts
• Property in question is not a ‘family property’
• Incorrect interpretation of Lingayat customs

– Claiming Hikal Shares (2023): Sugandha Hiremath first started by filing a case before the Bombay High Court, claiming ownership of Hikal shares owned by two listed companies controlled by B N Kalyani.

– Amending Stand on HUF (2024): In a suit filed in 2012 before the Pune Court, Sugandha Hiremath suddenly amended her ‘declaratory suit’ to claim partition of alleged properties of a non-existent Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).

– Challenging Mother’s Wills (2024): Sugandha Hiremath again suddenly challenged the legitimacy of her late mother’s wills.

– Dispute Over Last Rites (2025): Sugandha Hiremath has also filed a suit related to her mother’s last rites.

– Sugandha Hiremath stoops to new low and exploits mother’s death to gain access to property.

In the latest suit filed by Sugandha Hiremath in the Pune Civil Court, Sugandha Hiremath has claimed access to the property on which she has no right, to “build a samadhi” for her deceased mother, the late Mrs Sulochana N Kalyani who passed away two years ago, on 25th February 2023.

The last rites of the late Sulochana N Kalyani were carried out in the presence of the entire Kalyani family, including Sugandha Hiremath, in line with the Lingayat tradition, in consultation with the family’s Guru ji. Sugandha Hiremath has chosen to wake from her slumber days before the second death anniversary of her late mother and has filed a vexatious court proceeding, only to settle personal scores against her brother, tarnishing the memory of Sulochna Kalyani in the process.

In the last hearing, the Counsel appearing on behalf of Mr. Kalyani has contended the suit as frivolous and also stated that the suit is legally untenable, as it pertains to religious rites and ceremonies, which fall outside the jurisdiction of civil courts under Section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC). 

The response to Sugandha Hiremath’s suit underscores that the suit is fundamentally flawed, as it seeks to enforce alleged religious rituals, which are not actionable in a civil court. B N Kalyani has also highlighted various other illegalities in the Plaint, which makes the suit not maintainable. A separate application seeking the outright rejection of the plaint has also been filed.

While Kalyani honored the pre-agreed meeting arrangement with his siblings by visiting the designated venue at Amit Bunglow, Kalyani Nagar, Pune (on Feb 20), his siblings did not show up for the same.

On the contrary, Sugandha Hiremath arrived at Keshavnagar (on Feb 20) along with a media contingent to address them there, and gave them a false narrative, without disclosing that the venue communicated to her by Kalyani’s lawyers was Amit Bunglow, Kalyani Nagar, Pune. She continued to make a media spectacle of a very sensitive family matter.

During the hearing thereafter on the same day, based on the suggestion of the Court, Kalyani met Sugandha Hiremath at a neutral venue to apprise her of the rituals performed after the demise of their mother.

The real intention of Sugandha Hiremath appears to be to secure entry to the plot of land owned by a private company in which she has no rights. 

Despite these unforeseen turn of events, Kalyani remains committed to resolving family disputes in a peaceful and dignified manner. He has left no stone unturned in honoring the memory of his late mother. Soon after completion of the last rites of Sulochna Kalyani, Baba Kalyani arranged for the foundation of a ling at Kashi, in memory of his late mother and father at the jangamwadi muth. This was as per the wish of Late Dr N A Kalyani, who had done the same for his parents. Baba Kalyani also visited the muth and offered prayers there. On the second death anniversary of Sulochna Kalyani, he offered homage to his parents at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, by performing a puja in the Triveni Sangam in their name.