Who is the real Lodha? Mumbai’s new sibling rivalry Premium

High-profile legal battle between Lodha brothers over brand name usage and financial misconduct, set for Bombay High Court hearing.

The family feud between the Lodha brothers is the new addition to the host of high profile legal battles between family members that India has seen.

The crux of this one is simple: Who is the real Lodha? And the pursuit to answer the question uncovers the nature of the spat.

Macrotech Developer which operates under the name “Lodha Group” was a property development company is run by Abhishek Lodha, who is the elder son of Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who is the Minister of Tourism and Skill Development.

Mr. Mangal Lodha founded the company in 1980 but it was being run by Mr. Abhishek and his younger brother Mr. Abhinandhan Lodha as joint managing directors until 2015. Mr. Abhishek was overseeing projects and Mr. Abhinandhan, finance. In 2015 the brothers decided to split. Mr. Abhinandhan started a separate entity named House of Abhinandhan Lodha (HoABL) and continued dealing in development and sale of plots in Mumbai, Goa and Ayodhya, among other locations.

Almost a decade after the split, Mr. Abhishek Lodha and Macrotech Developers have filed a suit alleging that HoABL and its head Mr. Abhinandhan Lodha were using the Lodha brand name for their business Lodha Ventures among others, and are demanding an injunction of ₹5,000 crore. The usage of trademark was in contravention to the terms agreed upon in the family settlement agreement made in 2017, when the exclusive right over brand Lodha was given to Macrotech and prohibited HoABL, its use in any form.

HoABL was also not permitted to pursue any real estate project in Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Greater London area for five years which concluded in 2022. According to the petition, he was also given ₹1000 crore as a pay off to start a new business with a bunch of apartments. Mr. Abhinandhan however denied this in a statement saying that just ₹500 crore was given to him.

The petition acknowledged that Mr. Abhinandhan agreed to the terms but continued to use the name Lodha in his business, like using the word in bigger font and naming his company “Lodha Ventures.”