O.S. Kanwar: Family feud

New Delhi, Nov. 4 (PTI): Within days of the Bajaj brothers hitting the headlines, a battle in another corporate house has come to the fore with Narinder Jeet Kanwar approaching the Company Law Board (CLB) against elder brother and Apollo Tyres chief .S. Kanwar.

In a petition filed at the southern bench of the CLB in Chennai, Narinder sought an investigation over alleged manipulations, fraud and insider trading by his brother to acquire a controlling stake in the company.

“The affairs of the company are being conducted in a manner so as to deceive the shareholder. The funds of the company are being utilised for illegal purpose to make investments in such a manner that the control of Apollo Tyres is concentrated in a few hands, that is, .S. Kanwar and his family members,” he alleged.

The southern bench of the CLB, headed by its vice-chairman K.K. Balu, had admitted the petition last week.

.S. Kanwar has also filed an application before the board challenging the maintainability of the application.

The board has directed other respondents in the case, including Apollo Tyres chief operating officer Neeraj Kanwar and director Raaj Kanwar, son of .S. Kanwar, to file their replies by January next year.

According to latest data on Apollo Tyres available with the stock exchanges, promoters hold a 32.43 per cent share in the company and the rest is with the public.

In his petition, Narinder, third son of group founder Raunaq Singh, also requested the CLB to investigate in the affairs of six “dummy” investment companies — Raunaq Finance, Sacred Heart Investment Company, Neeraj Consultants, Sunrays Properties and Investment, Omex Investment and Finance, Juhi Investment and Swarnganga Consultants.

Alleging lack of transparency in the management, Narinder pleaded before the CLB that “the affairs of the company need to be investigated to expose the fraud and know the real owners of these investment companies”.

He also asked the board to pass directions to investigate into the dealings of funds, assets and affairs of .S. Kanwar and his family members, while restraining them from making further investments in any other company.