The Bombay high court has referred a dispute between Bollywood director Ramesh Sippy and his nephews and other family members over a South Bombay property, among other issues, for mediation. The Sippys agreed to mediation by former HC judge Justice S.J. Kathawalla.
A division bench of Justices B.P. Colabawalla and F.P. Pooniwalla, in its order on January 6, requested the mediator to file his report in court within four weeks. If the mediation fails, the court will consider other reliefs sought by the Sippys, the bench said and posted the matter to February 14 for directions.
Ramesh Sippy and his nephew, Sunhil Ajit Sippy, along with 12 others, were at loggerheads following the demise of his father, producer G.P. Sippy. On January 6, the high court recorded that both sides had come to a pro-tem agreement, including that Shaan and Sameer Uttamsingh, grandchildren of G.P. Sippy, would not part with possession, sell or create any third-party right in a residential property on Altamount Road in Bombay. Ramesh, who filed an appeal against an order in a suit which he filed for the administration of his late mother’s estate, also agreed not to part with a flat in the same building on the same floor. The said flat has two parts, with share certificates of each part in different names. While one part is in Ramesh Sippy’s name, the other is in the names of Shaan and Sameer. The flat, however, is one single unit, the high court noted.