How Kalanithi Maran Spent ₹37 Cr to Take Control of Sun

After a series of transactions ending with a 2005 bonus, Kalanithi held nearly 100% of Sun TV

- Vaeshnavi Kasthuril

How did media mogul Kalanithi Maran, who once held no shares in Sun TV Network Ltd, come to own all of it, sparking a family feud more than two decades later? In a legal notice dated 10 June, Kalanithi's brother and member of parliament Dayanidhi Maran questioned a series of transactions executed between 2003 and 2005—years when Sun TV was still a privately held company—alleging that Kalanithi quietly consolidated ownership while the family was grappling with a personal crisis. At the time, their father, former Union minister Murasoli Maran, was critically ill and subsequently passed away in 2003.

Mint breaks down the series of key transactions outlined in Dayanidhi's filing, which challenge Kalanithi's ownership.