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Journalism of Courage
Once the chairman of leading apparel group Raymond, Vijaypat Singhania has recently been in the news for a bitter dispute with his son Gautam Singhania, the current chairperson and Managing Director of Raymond Ltd. Singhania Sr, who has also served as the Sheriff of Mumbai in the past, claims his son has refused to fully honour an arbitration award over a property dispute among the family members.
Vijaypat petitioned the Bombay High Court claiming Raymond Ltd has not yet given him possession of a duplex in the multi-storey JK House building in Mumbai as promised. Hearing the petition earlier this week, Justice Kulkarni noted that such matters should be solved amicably within the family instead of approaching court.
“Such matters should not have reached the courts in the first place. These are disputes between a father and son. Try and resolve it amicably,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. All the parties in dispute have reportedly said they were open to the court’s suggestion. Along with Vijaypat, his late brother Ajaypat Singhania’s widow and his two sons too petitioned to demand possession of the duplexes promised to them in JK House building, which has been a family property.
Singhania Sr is also known for setting a World Record for highest altitude gained travelling in a hot air balloon at the age of 67. “I thought let us do something important in life, therefore I went about preparing for this world record,” he told BBC before taking off. The aviation enthusiast also confessed that flying was “a want, a passion and an obsession” for him.
His keen interest in flying enabled him to be the only Indian to cover 34,000 km in a 24-day world air race in 1994. He won the aviation sports gold medal from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) that ratifies aviation records for it, reported BBC. He was also awarded with the Padma Bhushan in 2006.
He tried his hand at writing and authored ‘An Angel in the Cockpit’, an account of his journey from UK to India on a microlight aircraft in 1988. He was also conferred the rank of Honorary Air Commodore of the Indian Air Force.
The man who had once been one of the richest industrialists in India, is currently living in a rented accommodation in Mumbai, according to Economic Times. According to reports, his lawyers claimed Singhania did not own a car or driver. His lawyer Dinyar Madon reportedly told the court that the 78-year-old gave up Raymond shares worth around Rs 1000 crore in his son’s favour only to be left alone, fending for himself.
