Sikh family at war over UK hotel chain, Mohinder Singh is suing his son for abandoning the Sikh faith and refusing to share the family wealth with him. Bal Mohinder Singh and his son, Jasminder, began life in Britain running a post office. Together, they parlayed that small family business into one of Britains most famous hotel chains, worth a staggering £800 million. But last week, father and son launched a bitter legal war against each other. Mohinder Singh is suing his son, Jasminder, the head of the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels empire, for abandoning the traditions of the Sikh faith and refusing to share the family wealth with him. Now 86 years old, Mohinder Singh moved to Britain from East Africa in 1973 and started running a post office in North London where Jasminder would help out. When Jasminder completed his studies, father and son moved into the hotel business, first buying a rundown Bed and Breakfast in Kensington before gradually expanding, until they had acquired a string of prime hotels including their flagship May Fair hotel and the Vanderbilt and the Savoy Court in Central London. Because Jasminders English was better and he was a qualified accountant, Mohinder Singh put him in charge of their hotel empire. The two cooperated well with each other for many years until, one day, their relationship fell apart. Mohinder claims Jasminder, who is 62, forced him to retire in 2010 and has failed to follow the Mitakshara system of the sharing of family wealth. Despite the fact that father, son and their respective wives all still live together in the same house, all attempts at mediation have failed. In his earlier submissions to HC, Mohinder claimed that Jasminder had refused to provide a chairlift for his own mother and had withdrawn the use of her staff. He accused Jasminder of trying to force him and his mother out of the property. Mohinder said he was devastated by his sons behaviour, adding, As the head of the family, I have to be respected and the fact that I was forced to retire by Jasminder was very, very painful for me. Since then my health has failed. My wife is unwell too — I still love him. I always will... He has worked hard too. But this is about respect and carrying on the traditions in which I have brought Jasminder up... I am only fighting for what is rightfully mine. Jasminder, however, earlier submitted that he did not have a particularly religious upbringing. He maintained that neither of his parents regarded the family to be living under an agreement to share property and nor was there any such agreement. He also claims it was he who played the leading part in building up the family business. The case continues and Jasminders mother and his sister, Seema, 59, and brother, Harinder, 46, are due to give evidence on his fathers behalf.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 04:26:00 +0000
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