MUMBAI: What’s in a name? A lot for the embittered Lodha siblings. Abhishek Lodha-led Macrotech Developers, in a statement to exchanges, alleged that entities belonging to his younger brother’s House of Abhinandan Lodha fabricated documents to wrongfully use the ‘Lodha’ brand name for a Goa project.
Macrotech, one of the largest real estate companies in India, claimed that the entities had fabricated a board resolution dated July 22, 2022 of the listed entity, which never existed, to grant itself permission to use the ‘Lodha’ name.
Macrotech (earlier known as Lodha Developers) also said that the fake board resolution with no-objection certificate for the use of Lodha brand was used to obtain govt permission. “No board meeting of the company has been held on the date which is stated in these board resolution, and the company’s board has never considered or approved such board resolutions in any of its meetings whatsoever,” Macrotech said in its disclosure.
A spokesperson for Lodha Ventures, that operates under the House of Abhinandan Lodha brand name, said that the company was “internally looking into the matter” and would revert with a detailed response. “Suffice to state that House of Abhinandan Lodha does not admit any of the allegations of fraud and forgery sought to be attributed to us.”
The brothers – Abhishek and Abhinandan – have been fighting a legal battle for the copyright over the ‘Lodha’ brand name in their respective real estate businesses.
According to sources, in mid-2022, House of Abhinandan Lodha first fabricated Macrotech’s board resolution that allowed four companies – Lodha Landbuild Infrastructure, Lodha Bhoomi Nirman, Lodha Land Design Infra, and Lodha Pictorials Landinfra – to use the Lodha brand name. At the same time House of Abhinandan Lodha changed the name of one of its companies, Varpan Land Developers, to Lodha Landbuild Infrastructure.