Madras High Court orders attachment of portion of Sivaji Ganesan’s bungalow

The Madras High Court has ordered the attachment of a part of acclaimed actor ‘Sivaji’ Ganesan’s sprawling bungalow at South Boag Road (now Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Road) in T. Nagar, Chennai, due to a monetary dispute.

The Madras High Court has ordered the attachment of a portion of acclaimed actor ‘Sivaji’ Ganesan’s (alias V.C. Ganesan) sprawling bungalow at South Boag Road (now Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Road) in T. Nagar, Chennai, due to a monetary dispute between a private enterprise and the late actor’s grandson R.G. Dusshyanth (son of Ramkumar Ganesan) and the latter’s wife Abirami Dusshyanth.

Justice Abdul Quddhose passed the orders after efforts to mediate the issue ended in vain, with Dhanabakkiam Enterprises, represented by its partner Akshay Sarin, demanding a settlement of ₹9.39 crore (including the principal amount of ₹3.74 crore, along with 30% interest, working out to over ₹5 crore till July 31, 2023). The actor’s family members, however, were willing to pay a one-time settlement of only ₹2.75 crore (apart from the payments already made).

Initially, Justice T. Ravindran (a retired judge of the Madras High Court) had been appointed as an arbitrator to resolve the disputes that had arisen between the Mylapore-based private enterprise and Eshan Productions, represented by its partners Mr. Dusshyanth and his wife, on the basis of a financial agreement reached between them on December 22, 2017, for producing a movie titled ‘Jagajaala Killadi.’

Mr. Ramkumar too had reportedly signed the agreement. The arbitrator passed an award on May 4, 2024, directing the actor’s family members to pay ₹9.02 crore, apart from future interest at the rate of 12% per annum till the date of realisation. The retired judge had also permitted the private enterprise to sell the rights of the movie ‘Jagajaala Killadi,’ produced by Eshan Productions, in order to recover the dues.

However, the private enterprise was unable to seize the possession of the feature film since it was informed that the movie was not in a format to be sold. Hence, it chose to file an execution petition before the High Court for executing the arbitral award, which had attained finality, by attaching Mr. Ramkumar’s one-fourth share in his father’s bungalow spread over 22 grounds and 440 sq. ft.

Since multiple opportunities given by the High Court to resolve the issue amicably through mediation failed and the actor’s family members also did not file any counter affidavit to contest the execution petition on merits, Justice Quddhose ordered attachment of a part of the bungalow and directed the petitioner firm to communicate the court order to the T. Nagar Sub-Registrar.

Following the court order, the Sub-Registrar made an entry in the property’s encumbrance certificate to the extent of 13,310 sq. ft out of the total extent of around 53,240 sq. ft. The petitioner enterprise had valued the entire property at ₹88.50 crore and stated that Mr. Ramkumar’s one-fourth share alone would be around ₹22.15 crore, and that it would be sufficient to recover the dues.