Sun TV rejects DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran's fraud charges as speculative, personal

India Today

20-06-2025

The Sun TV Network Ltd. has issued an official response to reports surrounding a legal notice sent by DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran to his elder brother and media baron Kalanidhi Maran. The media company, in a statement, called the allegations speculative, defamatory and factually unsupported.In a statement released on June 20 through a regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the company said, 'The statements allegedly made in the articles are incorrect, misleading, speculative, defamatory and not supported by facts or law. We wish to inform that all acts have been done in accordance with legal obligations and the same had been duly vetted by concerned intermediaries before the public issue of the company.'advertisementSun TV further asserted that the matter being discussed stems from events 22 years ago, when the company was still a closely held private limited entity. It said the allegations have no impact on its operations. 'The matters alleged in the articles do not have any bearing on the business of the company or its day-to-day functioning and, being the family matter of the promoter, are purely personal in nature,' the company said.
The clarification follows a serious intra-family dispute within the prominent Sun Group, after Dayanidhi Maran issued a legal notice to Kalanidhi Maran and seven others, accusing them of fraudulent conduct, including the unauthorised allotment of 12 lakh shares of Sun TV Network Ltd. on September 15, 2003, without proper valuation, fair consideration, or shareholder consent. The notice described the allotment as illegal and a breach of trust.advertisementThe notice further claimed that investments totalling Rs 8,500 crore had been made in various domestic and international Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and mutual funds using undisclosed funds, citing evidence from savings account records.Additionally, Dayanidhi Maran alleged that a red herring prospectus submitted to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), National Stock Exchange (NSE), and BSE was based on fraudulent documents and filed in conspiracy with lead managers to secure public listing, misleading both regulators and investors.He has demanded that the company's shareholding be restored to its 2003 structure and has sought the return of dividends, monetary benefits, and assets received since then. The notice states that failure to comply could lead to civil, criminal, regulatory and enforcement action.
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