Delhi HC rejects Natasha Oberoi's plea to arbitrate family feud over PRS Oberoi estate

The Delhi high court has refused a plea by Natasha Oberoi, daughter of late hotelier P.R.S. Oberoi, to send her dispute with family members over her father’s estate to arbitration.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, in a 15 January order released on Friday, ruled that disputes involving Wills, inheritance, and family succession cannot be decided by private arbitrators and must be settled by civil courts.

The court also noted that Natasha, who is the managing director of Oberoi Hotels Pvt. Ltd, but not a shareholder, cannot rely on the arbitration clause in the company’s Articles of Association.

The case arises from a deepening rift in the Oberoi family following the death of P.R.S. Oberoi, popularly known as “Biki” Oberoi, in November 2023.

He was the former executive chairman of ElH Ltd and the patriarch of the Oberoi Group, one of India's most prominent luxury hospitality chains, with substantial shareholding and interests in ElH Ltd, Oberoi Hotels Pvt. Ltd, and Oberoi Properties.

Two Wills

At the heart of the dispute are two sets of Wills. One side is led by Anastasia Mirjana Jojic Oberoi, P.R.S. Oberoi’s daughter from his second marriage.

She relies on a Will dated 25 October 2021, along with a codicil from 27 August 2022, which she says was her father’s final Will.

According to her, these documents make her and certain family trusts key beneficiaries of the estate, including valuable shareholdings in Oberoi group companies.

On the other side are Vikramjit Singh Oberoi, managing director and chief executive of EIH Ltd, his sister Natasha Oberoi, and their cousin Arjun Singh Oberoi, executive chairman of EIH. They dispute the 2021 Will and instead rely on an older Will from 20 March 1992.

Vikramjit has argued that the shares in Oberoi Hotels and Oberoi Properties were held by his father in trust for him and his cousin Arjun, and were meant to pass to them upon his father’s death, and therefore should not form part of the estate under the later will claimed by Anastasia.

However, Natasha’s move to seek arbitration followed a board resolution passed on 6 June 2025 by Oberoi Hotels Pvt. Ltd. This resolution authorized a person named Tejaswi Dixit to handle all legal matters related to P.R.S. Oberoi’s estate, including filing and defending court cases.

Natasha alleged that Dixit was a “stranger” to the company and had been wrongly empowered by Vikramjit and Arjun by bypassing proper board procedures.

She claimed the move was aimed at taking control of litigation over the estate and sidelining other family members.

Based on this, Natasha argued that the dispute was really about company management and internal control and should therefore be sent to arbitration under existing corporate agreements.

The court, however, disagreed. It said the real issue was not corporate governance but who is entitled to inherit P.R.S. Oberoi’s assets and which Will is valid. Such matters, the court held, involve personal law and public interest and must be decided by civil courts, not by private arbitral tribunals.

The court also referred to an earlier order passed in September 2024 in a case filed by Anastasia, which restrained any transfer of shares held by P.R.S. Oberoi in EIH Ltd, Oberoi Hotels, and Oberoi Properties, so that the estate remains protected until the succession dispute is finally resolved.