Escalating Feud Threatens Legacy of C Krishniah Chetty & Sons

The dispute among the fifth-generation owners of the esteemed 154-year-old jewellery brand C Krishniah Chetty & Sons (CKC & Sons) has further escalated as a family settlement agreement (FSA) signed in 2014 has collapsed. Thus threatening the legacy of the prominent jewellery brand.

However, C Vinod Hayagriv, MD and director of C Krishniah Chetty Group of Jewellers, has claimed that there was no agreement in the first place. In an advertisement recently, he accused his cousin Ganesh Narayan's company, C Krishniah Chetty & Co (CKC & Co), and its showroom located next to his own in The Touchstone building in Bengaluru, of violating court orders.

According to Hayagriv, the promoters are facing a pending contempt of court case for starting a business adjacent to his own, The Times Of India reported.

The ad claims that Narayan and his mother Valli Narayan are shareholders and directors of CKC & Sons and CKC Group entities. Hence, the law prohibits them from engaging in conflicting business with the CKC Group.

However, Ganesh Narayan says that his company (formerly known as Deepali Company) has been an established entity of the CKC Group for 42 years. It has been operating in The Touchstone building even before CKC & Sons. For over a century, The Touchstone property, where both stores are located, has been the family home and is equally owned and divided between the two families.

He claims that CKC & Co and CKC & Sons have co-existed in the jewellery and gems business. "The binding family settlement is self-explanatory and permits all companies to compete, with no restrictions whatsoever. It is crystal clear on the rights, trademarks, and brand names to be used by the two groups and is binding on all the parties to this agreement. Also, as direct descendants of Cotha Krishniah Chetty we all have a right to use the name. This has been upheld by all the courts in our case," the daily quoted Narayan as saying.

On his turn, Hayagriv said stated that the family settlement agreement was never validly executed. He claims, "All claims being made by the directors and promoters of CKC & Co are based on the terms of the alleged FSA, which, as previously stated, are not binding. Multiple litigations are pending before various judicial fora and there are a slew of restraint orders in place against C. Ganesh Narayan, C. Valli Narayan, as well as CKC & Co. restraining them from precipitating matters and directing them to maintain the status quo which they have been in violation of since day one. In fact, Contempt of court cases have been admitted against the said directors and promoters of CKC & Co for starting the next-door showroom in the same name and style as us."

Narayan states that Hayagrib and his family have come up with a store in Malleshwaram using brand name of C Krishniah Chetty Jewellers as agreed in the family settlement. "CKC & Sons is the family company jointly-owned by Vinod Hayagriv's family and Ganesh Narayan's family with each family having a 50% ownership stake - but exclusively controlled by Vinod Hayagriv family due to majority board control and they are taking unilateral decisions," he said.

He claims that Hayagriv and his family have filed a false contempt petition and they are confident that "justice will prevail."