Her nomination to a board seat was rejected by a majority of AIL’s shareholders last month
Valli Arunachalam has issued a legal notice to Ambadi Investments (AIL), the holding company of the ₹38,000-crore Murugappa Group, Murugappa family members and others in relation thereto, after her nomination to a board seat was rejected by a majority of AIL’s shareholders last month.Dr. Arunachalam, 59, the eldest daughter of former executive chairman M.V. Murugappan, has been battling for the right to be recognised as her father’s successor on the AIL board since her father’s demise in 2017. Along with her mother and sister, she holds an 8.15% stake in AIL.Rights of daughters | Supreme Court ruling a wake-up call to family businesses“On behalf of my mother, sister and me, I can hereby confirm that following careful and thorough deliberation and in consultation with our independent advisors, we have decided to seek legal remedies with respect to our ongoing efforts to settle my father’s will,” she said in a statement.“It was a big step for us and a very unfortunate one, as we have worked tirelessly over the course of the last three years to bring about an amicable settlement of my father’s interests in AIL. With the family voting unanimously to reject my appointment to the AIL board, we have seemingly reached the end of the road for an amicable settlement,” Dr. Arunachalam added.She also noted that a “leave no stone unturned” approach had been adopted by her in an effort to bring about an amicable settlement.“Given how the Murugappa family has treated our family branch over the past three years, we have no confidence that our substantial stake in the family business will be safeguarded by them. Perhaps most confounding to us is that the Murugappa family has attempted to project their stand as principled and righteous,” Dr. Arunachalam, Karta of MV Murugappan HUF, said.“We recognize that our efforts have broader implications, especially with respect to gender equality – which is crucial for India to realize its full economic potential and social parity. We have complete faith in the judiciary and are emboldened by some of the recent decisions. We are confident that justice will prevail,” she added.
