The Mumbai police have filed a case against Nusli Nevil Wadia, the grandson of Pakistan's founder Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and some of his family members, as well as others, for allegedly using forged and fabricated documents in their court proceedings against Ferani Hotels Pvt Ltd, a leading daily Indian newspaper has reported. 

 

The First Information Report (FIR) was registered following orders by the metropolitan magistrate court at Borivili, which directed the Bangur Nagar police to register a case against 81-year-old business tycoon Nusli Wadia, Maureen Wadia, 78, Ness Wadia, 54, Jehangir Wadia, 52, H.J. Bamji, 75, K.F. Bharucha and R.E. Wandewala, 65, for alleged cheating and forgery.

 

The case revolves around a 30-year-old development agreement between Wadia and Ferani Hotels on a plot of land in Malad, which Ferani Hotels was to develop with builder K. Raheja, along with paying Wadia 12 percent of the gross sale proceeds. 

 

However, disputes arose in 2008, leading to legal battles over Jinnah’s grandson’s share of sales and the management of the land. Mala fide, lack of authority, and commercial disputes are among the allegations in the case, which has proceeded through various courts, including the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court.

 

On Monday, the FIR was registered under Sections 3(5) (general explanations), 318(4) (cheating), 331(2) (punishment for house-trespass or house-breaking), 336(3) (forgery), 339 (possession of a document described in Section 337 or Section 338, knowing it to be forged and intending to use it as genuine), 340(2) (forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

 

According to the FIR, Mahendra Chande, the chief executive officer of Ferani Hotels Private Limited and its group companies, complained to the police that the accused persons had allegedly forged documents and submitted them to the court in 2010 in a commercial matter against them.

 

“We are still verifying the complaint and will be able to comment on the matter only after scrutinising the bulky documents involved in the case,” a police officer from Bangur Nagar police station was quoted as saying by the outlet.

 

Despite text and WhatsApp messages, Wadia’s son Ness Wadia remained unavailable for comment, it added.