Behind the deal that Lodhas struck to end acrimony

After a mother's heartfelt plea failed to bridge the chasm, nine rounds of court-appointed mediation and hectic parleys between a battery of lawyers finally forged a truce between warring brothers Abhishek and Abhinandan Lodha.

- Neha Joshi & Nehal Chaliawala

The terms of their settlement, recently filed before the Bombay High Court, clearly spell out that younger brother Abhinandan has no rights to use the word 'Lodha' in isolation for any real estate business. The brothers also agreed that neither owed the other any money.

Interestingly, these terms are what Abhishek Lodha and his listed company Macrotech Developers had maintained for long.

While the mediation was achieved in April, the terms of the settlement, as filed before the court, have now come to light. The settlement, too, was achieved in April within days of Macrotech Developers accusing the House of Abhinandan Lodha of forgery and fraud.

When contacted, the two sides declined to comment on whether Macrotech's allegations had any influence on the mediation process.

"Abhinandan Lodha always believed and continues to believe that private family matters should be discussed within the family and at no stage of the legal and mediation process did we disrespect the process," a spokesperson for Abhinandan Ventures said. "We will therefore continue to maintain the dignity of such conduct."