The cross examination of Jaidev Thackeray, estranged son of late Sena chief Bal Thackeray, will begin before the Bombay High Court from July 18, in a testamentary suit filed by him challenging his father’s will.
Justice Gautam Patel of the High Court said on Monday that the lawyer of his brother and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray would cross-examine Jaidev on a day-to-day basis from July 18.
The court has so far examined witnesses FD’Souza, Jalil Parkar and Sena leader Anil Parab. D’Souza told the court that Thackeray had made multiple wills, in all of which the beneficiaries remained the same, but the assets willed to each beneficiary kept changing.
Uddhav, the youngest son of late Thackeray and current Sena president, and four others – party leader-cum-lawyer Anil Parab, noted lawyer Adik Shirodkar, architect Shashi Prabhu and late party chief’s personal assistant Ravindra Mhatre, have been named as the executors of the will, which was purportedly signed on December 13, 2011 — eleven months before the Sena patriarch’s death.
The Sena patriarch had purportedly signed his will in the presence of his personal physician Jalil Parkar and Bandra-based lawyer Flanian D’souza.
Ahead of the probation of the disputed will — for which Uddhav and four other executors moved the Bombay High Court in January 2013, a property dispute rocked the Thackeray household, with the aggrieved son Jaidev taking on his younger brother Uddhav legally over the division of their late father’s properties and bank deposits, which have been valued at Rs14.85 crore in the will.
The dispute stemmed from the fact that the Sena patriarch, who passed away on November 17, 2012, did not leave any “share” for either Jaidev or the family of his eldest son Bindumadhav, who died in a road accident in 1996.
In a 90-page affidavit filed before the High Court, Jaidev stated that the Sena patriarch – suffering as he was from “cognitive dysfunction” – might not have signed the December 13, 2011 will as was being claimed by Uddhav and four others.
Jaidev contested his late father's will on the ground that the value of properties and bank deposits was much more than Rs14.85 crore, as cited in the petition filed in the High Court seeking the probation of late Thackeray’s purported will. However, Madhavi, widow of late Bindumadhav, has not contested the will.
On its part, the Bombay High Court converted the petition filed by Uddhav, the maximum beneficiary of his father’s will, along with four other executioners, and Jaidev’s affidavit into a testamentary suit.
In his affidavit, Jaidev has contested the cited value (
Rs14.85 crore) of properties and bank deposits willed by his father, saying that the amount was far less considering that the “Matoshri” where the Sena patriarch lived, was alone worth Rs40 crore.
Jaidev also stated that he had a reason to believe that his late father owned several other properties, bank deposits and ornaments, which were worth several crores of rupees, but said these properties and valuables did not find a mention in the probate petition filed by his younger brother Uddhav and four others.
Jaidev, who moved out of “Matoshri” in the nineties after his estrangement with his second wife Smita, currently lives with his third wife Anuradha and daughter Madhuri, an offspring from his third marriage.
Given that he had somewhat made up with late father during his life time, a peeved Jaidev cannot imagine as to how the Sena patriarch has not left any “share” for him in the latter’s properties and bank deposits.
As per the purported will, late Thackeray, who had three sons in Bindumadhav, Jaidev and Uddhav, has bequeathed the entire first floor of “Matoshri”, where he used to live, to his grandson Aishwarya, son of Jaidev and his divourced second wife Smita,
The Sena patriarch has given the second floor of “Matoshri” to Uddhav and his two sons, Aditya and Tejas. He has bequeathed the ground and third floors to Uddhav. While Uddhav is entitled to use the entire third floor for himself, late Thackeray has asked his youngest son (Uddhav), who is also the current Sena president, to use the ground floor of “Matoshri” for holding the party’s social and political meetings.
In addition, late Thackeray has bequeathed a farm house at Karjat, a plot of land at Bhandardara and a few other properties to Uddhav.
Earlier on April 3, 2014, the high court had refused to grant an interim relief to Jaidev Thackeray, estranged son of late Sena chief Bal Thackeray, on a plea, seeking a restraint on brother Uddhav from selling or disposing of the family properties, as mentioned by their father in his will.
While rejecting Jaidev’s application seeking an interim relief, Justice R D Dhanuka of the high court had observed that under the Indian Succession Act, this court does not have the powers to grant interim protection in respect of properties.
"The deceased is a Hindu and hence falls under the category of persons mentioned in section 269 (2) of the Act which has a specific bar on granting interim reliefs," Justice Dhanuka had said.