Chhabria's mother slaps notice

Rani Rajaram Chhabria, mother of the late Dubai-based tycoon Manu Chhabria, has sent a legal notice to those bidding for a strategic stake in Shaw Wallace Distillers Ltd, the liquor division of Shaw Wallace & Company, saying that she is entitled to a share of the estate and no bidding can proceed without her consent.

The notice has been sent to New Bridge Financial Advisors, Mason Summers Alcobev, United Breweries, Kyndal India and Seagram India.

These companies have submitted bids for a strategic stake in Shaw Wallace Distillers. R R Chhabria has appointed J Sagar Associates as her legal advisor.

The legal notice states: "Our client is the mother of late M R Chhabria. As his mother, our client is entitled to a share of the estate of late M R Chhabria. For agreeing to buy Shaw Wallace Distillers is subject to our client's consent, which has not been given. We hereby put you on notice that any discussion only be done with our client's consent. Any purchase or agreement to purchase the same without our client's consent will expose you to such legal action entirely at your risk as to the cost and consequences thereof."

Asked for comment, a Shaw Wallace spokesman in Delhi said Manu Chhabria's mother had made a similar claim when Shaw Wallace sold a 50 per cent interest in its beer business to SabMiller.

But the deal went through and she did not get any compensation. She has made a similar request now, though the Chhabria family is yet to get a copy of the letter, the spokesman said.

Sources close to the Chhabrias said that there isn't much substance in her claim to Manu Chhabria's estate as the country's succession laws clearly say that a dead man's wealth goes to his wife and children and not to his parents, unless they are dependent on him. But this was not the case as Manu Chhabria was living in Dubai, while his parents were staying in Mumbai.

But other sources said that Rani Rajaram Chhabria had not send a notice when the beer business was sold. She did, however, send a notice to Vidya Chhabria, Manu Chhabria's wife, and Komal Chhabria, Manu Chhabria's daughter, about a month ago asking them for a copy of Manu's will. No reply to the notice was sent, they added.