PUNE: A civil court in Vadgaon Maval has rejected Rahul Kirloskar’s plea challenging the maintainability of a suit by Kirloskar Brothers Limited (KBL) with regard to a land transfer issue.The plot in question, a 4-4.5 acre parcel in Dhamane village in Maval taluka, was to be transferred in favour of the Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies (KIAMS).KBL, headed by Rahul’s brother Sanjay, alleged that Rahul did not transfer the land to the institute for a long time, despite taking funds from the institute.Rahul had pleaded, among other things, that KBL’s suit was barred by law as KIAMS is a society registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration (KSR) Act and was neither a corporate body under the Companies Act nor a juristic person. The ownership of the land cannot be vested with KIAMS, he pleaded, while relying on Section 14 of the KSR Act.Joint civil judge junior division R R Kulkarni, however, cited Section 15 of the same Act and held, “There is no bar to entertain the present suit. It is admitted fact that the society (KIAMS) is registered under KSR Act. Hence as per Section 15 of said Act, every society registered under the Act may sue or be sued ... I have no hesitation to hold that there is no substance in the present application and, hence, is liable for rejection.”The court also held that the suit has been filed for declaration and mandatory injunction. “As per Section 9 of the Civil Procedure Code, the court shall have jurisdiction to try all suits of civil nature excepting suit of which their cognisance is either expressly or implied barred,” the court said.KBL, in its plea, informed the court that Rahul executed a sale deed on August 29, 2017, transferring the land in favour of KIAMS. However, this sale deed was executed after the institution of the suit, which not only prays for the transfer of land, but also the same without any cost to the institute. A separate plea has been filed by KBL for the recovery of about Rs11.39 lakh paid by the institute to Rahul.The legal tussle stems from an ongoing feud within the Kirloskar family. Rahul was president of KIAMS when the plot of land in question was purchased. At the moment, his brother Atul is in charge of KIAMS. Both are also members of its governing council. The KIAMS offers a two-year fully residential postgraduate diploma in management programme, besides an executive education programme.In its suit, the KBL has alleged lapses on the part of Rahul over the 10 ten years in transferring the land acquired by him on behalf of the institute, despite seeking an advance of Rs85 lakh for the same from KIAMS. Responding to the plea against the suit, KBL had argued — among other things — that the plea was mischievous and aimed at prolonging the matter. It also questioned Rahul’s locus standi to file the application and that the suit deserved to be dismissed. Rahul Kirloskar said in a text message, sent by his spokesperson, that he did not wish to comment at the moment

Stay updated with all the Pune Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.