Chennai Central MP and former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran has sent a legal notice to his elder brother, Sun Group chairman Kalanithi Maran, accusing him of orchestrating large-scale fraud in the allotment and transfer of shares in Sun TV Network and its affiliated firms, Bar and Bench reported .

The notice alleges that starting in 2003, Kalanithi and seven others engaged in fraudulent activities to secure control of Sun TV. Among the allegations are illegal share allotments, manipulation of company records, undervalued transactions, and misuse of corporate funds.

One key allegation is that on September 15, 2003, shortly after their father, SN Maran, was brought back to India in critical condition, Kalanithi was allotted 12 lakh equity shares without proper valuation, shareholder approval, or the consent of the original promoters. Issued at a face value of Rs 10 per share, these shares allegedly gave him a 60 percent stake, though their market value was over Rs 3,000 each at the time, it claims.

Dayanidhi further claims that his father’s shares in Sun TV and related entities were illegally transferred to their mother, Mallika Maran, on November 26, 2003, before a death certificate or legal heirship certificate had been obtained. This, the notice claims, paved the way for further unauthorised share transfers to Kalanithi in 2005 at grossly undervalued prices.

The notice alleges that a Rs 174 crore dividend declared by Kalanithi in 2005 was allegedly used to acquire a 50 percent stake held by MK Dayalu, wife of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. It alleges that dividends and share allocations were used to benefit select individuals, including Kalanithi’s wife, Kaveri Kalanithi (now Joint Managing Director of Sun TV), and others who were later given senior roles in Sun Group companies like SpiceJet and Sun Direct. It claims several professionals — including the firm’s auditor, financial consultant, and company secretary — allegedly helped facilitate and cover up the irregularities.

The notice demands the restoration of the company’s shareholding structure to what it was on September 15, 2003, and calls for the reversal of share transfers and return of dividends and financial gains to the “legal heirs” of SN Maran and MK Dayalu.

It warns of impending legal action under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Companies Act, SEBI Act, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. 

A report in The Indian Express noted that the notice brings the long-simmering inheritance dispute within one of Tamil Nadu’s most influential political and business families to a legal confrontation.

The Marans’ familial ties to the Karunanidhi clan once ensured that their conflicts and disagreements were settled privately. But that dynamic appears to have shifted following Karunanidhi’s death in 2018.

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