The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a batch of special leave petitions filed by a section of administrators of Priyamvada Devi Birla’s estate challenging Harsh Vardhan Lodha’s continuation as the chairman of MP Birla Group of companies as well as the outcomes of the annual general meetings of the four operating companies.

This the second time in seven months that Lodha’s continuation on the boards of the listed and unlisted companies of the MP Birla group has been challenged before the apex court.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had turned down petitions filed by the Birla family seeking to challenge a Calcutta High Court order that had dismissed contempt of court petitions.

On Friday (February 4), Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant said they were not inclined to entertain the SLP filed by two of the three members of the APL Committee (court-appointed custodians of the late Priyamvada Birla’s estate) in view of the instructions passed by the apex court in its order of July 12, 2021.

In that order, Justice Chandrachud and Justice Hrishikesh Roy had asked the high court to expeditiously dispose of all outstanding appeals and cross-appeals that arose from the verdict of Justice Munshi, who had ordered Lodha to step down as director from all MP Birla Group Companies.

The order of Justice Munshi was modified by a division bench thereafter, allowing Lodha to continue. In April 2021, the bench had also dismissed a raft of contempt petitions against Lodha.

“Since directions have been issued by this court in the order dated July 12, 2021 for expeditious disposal of the appeals before the High Court, it is not appropriate for the court to entertain the special leave petitions at the present stage,” Justice Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant said.

Lodha counsel said the order was a victory for his client.

“The dismissal of the second special leave petition filed with the same allegations as the previous one clearly reveals the hollowness of the claims made in these petitions,” said Debanjan Mandal, partner of Fox & Mandal and counsel for Lodha.

“After this second verdict in less than seven months, we are confident that attempts to remove our client from various entities of the MP Birla Group will not succeed,” he added.

Counsel for the APL committee members — Justice Mohit S. Shah (retired) and A.C. Chakrabortti — also claimed victory.

“The Supreme Court has given liberty to the administrator, who are court appointed officers, to move the HC and seek substantial relief,” Rohini Musa, advocate on record for the committee, said on Sunday.

The February 4 order noted: “We clarify that the APL Committee would be at liberty to seek such substantive reliefs as may be necessitated to ensure its effective functioning.”

The Birla and Lodha families have been at loggerheads with each other since 2004 when Priyamvada Devi bequeathed her assets to late Rajendra Singh Lodha, father of Harsh, through a disputed will. The probate of the will is pending before the high court.