Dayanidhi withdraws legal notice issued to brother Kalanidhi; Sun TV says issues resolved

Sun TV’s company secretary Ramamoorthy reiterated that the issue of the legal notices and the withdrawal of such legal notices do not pertain to the business or management of Sun TV or its day to day functioning.

Chennai: Sun TV, one of the largest television networks in the country, on Monday said the legal notice issued to its chairman Kalanidhi Maran by his brother and DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran has been withdrawn and that issues between them "have been resolved".

In a letter to the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Sun TV’s company secretary Ravi Ramamoorthy said he has been informed by Kalanidhi that all legal notices issued by Dayanidhi have been “unconditionally and irrevocably withdrawn” and the issues hereby “stand resolved.”

Ramamoorthy reiterated that the issue of the legal notices and the withdrawal of such legal notices do not pertain to the business or management of Sun TV or its day to day functioning and being a family, matter of the promoter are purely personal in nature.

However, the Sun TV’s company secretary didn’t reveal the details of the deal arrived at between the brothers.

Dayanidhi had in June sent a notice to his elder brother Kalanidhi alleging that the latter allotted 12 lakh equity shares of Sun TV Private Limited at a price of Rs 10 each to his name “without sufficient, proper valuation and fair consideration, and without obtaining consent from all other existing shareholders – the families of Murasoli Maran and M Karunanidhi."

Accusing his brother of indulging in money laundering, Dayanidhi had also threatened to approach the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting seeking immediate cancellation of all licenses held by Sun Group, and the Registrar of Newspapers for India with a specific request for the immediate cancellation of the registration and publishing licences of newspapers.

He also threatened to approach the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to seek the cancellation of the franchise licence issued to Sunrisers Hyderabad, and to notify the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the immediate cancellation of the operational licence granted to SpiceJet Ltd.

The withdrawal of the notice was expected after reconciliation talks between the warring brothers facilitated by DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin were successful.

Stalin roped in Dravidar Kazhagam chief K Veeramani and one of the directors of a leading newspaper group to talk to the brothers as he felt the brothers fighting it out in the open may not be a very good sign for the party, especially when elections are approaching.

Kalanidhi and Dayanidhi have not been on talking terms for the past few years and the legal notice by the younger brother to his elder sibling brought to fore differences between the powerful brothers for the past few years, which have been doing the rounds as rumours.