Family feuds among India’s business elite have often spilled into the public eye, revealing complex dynamics of power, inheritance, and control. The most recent family dispute that has come to light is of one of the country’s most influential media dynasties, now facing an unprecedented public and legal rupture. What’s been happening? According to a report by Indian Express, former union minister and DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran has served a legal notice to his elder brother, media baron Kalanithi Maran, alleging a series of fraudulent transactions since 2003.
A legacy undone?
Per the report, the notice, dated June 10, 2025, accused Kalanithi Maran and seven others, including his wife Kaveri Maran, of “fraudulent practices”, including allegations of “cheating and money laundering”. It further alleged a calculated and unauthorised scheme by Kalanithi Maran to obtain a controlling stake in the family-promoted media enterprise.
The development signals an unusual public rift within the Maran family, descendants of senior DMK leader and former Union Minister Murasoli Maran. The legal notice references the legacy of Murasoli Maran and MK Dayalu, wife of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, underscoring the family’s foundational role in establishing the media empire.
Dayanidhi Maran’s legal team has demanded a forensic audit of Sun TV Network’s finances and the return of assets allegedly diverted from the company.
Here are the details from the notice:
The notice, per the Indian Express report, stated that the alleged transactions took place during the terminal illness of Murasoli Maran, the father of Dayanidhi and Kalanithi. Murasoli Maran was in a coma and on life support from late 2002 until his death in November 2003.
According to the notice, on September 15, 2003, shortly after Murasoli Maran was brought back to Chennai from the United States, Kalanithi Maran allegedly allotted himself 12 lakh equity shares in SUN TV Private Limited at a face value of Rs 10 each. The notice claims this allotment was made without the approval of the board or shareholders, despite the company’s shares being valued between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 at the time, and with reserves and surplus exceeding Rs 253 crore.
The details in the notice claimed that by issuing these shares, Kalanithi Maran instantly gained a 60 per cent stake in the company, which drastically reduced the shareholding of the original promoters. Post this, the shares of families of Murasoli Maran and the late M Karunanidhi reduced from 50 per cent each to just 20 per cent each. It also alleges that while the true value of the shares was over Rs 3,500 crore, Kalanithi paid only Rs 1.2 crore.
Series of alleged fraudulent acts
The legal notice outlines what it describes as a systematic and calculated pattern of fraud continuing well beyond 2003. Here are the most explosive claims:
– Transfer of 95,000 shares held by Murasoli Maran to his wife Mallika Maran on November 26, 2003, just days after his death, and prior to the issuance of a legal heir certificate.
– Similar transactions are alleged to have taken place across other family-owned entities such as Kungumam Publications, Kungumam Nidhiyagam, and Kal Investments (Madras), all of which held a combined 2.85 lakh shares in SUN TV.
– Allegations that shares purchased by Kalanithi from MK Dayalu, wife of Karunanidhi, were priced at Rs 3,173 per share during the same period, revealing “selective valuation”.
– A Rs 10.64 crore dividend recorded in the company’s 2006 IPO documents as paid to Mallika Maran, but allegedly never disbursed.
– Investments made in businesses like Sun Direct TV, Kal Airways, Sun Pictures, and cricket franchises Sunrisers Hyderabad and Eastern Cape, were allegedly funded using “proceeds of crime” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Political and business repercussions
Traditionally, family differences within the DMK clan were resolved quietly, until the time of M Karunanidhi. However, since his death in 2018, intra-family fissures have begun surfacing more publicly.
This legal offensive by Dayanidhi, invoking provisions under the Companies Act, Indian Penal Code, SEBI Act, and PMLA, could mark a watershed moment not just for the Marans but for Tamil Nadu’s political-business ecosystem.
All eyes will now be on how the legal battle takes a turn for the better or for worse.