Forged signature, missing names? Rohit Bal family, friend trade allegations as court battle becomes murky

More than eight months after iconic fashion designer Rohit Bal’s death, the state of his estate still hangs in balance amid allegations and counter-allegations of a “forged” signature on the will that surfaced after his unprecedented passing. The Bal family, citing a forensic lab, has alleged that the late designer’s signature was forged, while his friend Lalit Tehlan, citing another lab, has rubbished the allegations.

“The signature on the alleged will is forged as per the findings of the (forensics) lab,” said Bal’s elder brother, Rajiv Bal. “We submitted the document to a lab with impeccable credentials and recommended by someone we know from the Enforcement Directorate, as we wanted to be sure that we do the right thing the right way. They have not only found that the signature is forged, based on some lines and marks on the document, they also told us that the signature was put not on the original alleged will but on a copy of the same,” he added.

As a result, the ongoing case in the Delhi High Court, where Bal’s family has contested the veracity of his signature, may be prolonged. The family has contested close to 40 points about the will and the estate.

According to Rajiv, even the language and contents of the will raised suspicions. He said that the will mentioned some of the names not in full and omitted those of the late designer’s half-brother, Anmol Vellani, and half-sister Roopam Khatau. “In such an important document as a will, how come my sisters’ names are mentioned only by their first names? That’s strange. Besides, Anmol and Roopam’s names are not mentioned at all,” Rajiv said.

Meanwhile, Tehlan, who is also a model, said that it was understandable that the family would make such allegations, as they do not want him to get anything out of the will. “I was expecting them to come out with something like this. So, I’ve also got the will and the signature tested by a lab and got their certificate saying that both are authentic,” he said. "I also have witnesses to prove the same."

Rajiv also cast doubts on the valuables taken from his brother’s home. “When the officials came to record the inventory, none of us had the combination of Rohit’s safe, and it was decided to call someone from the Godrej safe company to open it. To our surprise, Lalit came forward saying he knew the combination and opened the safe. Some of Rohit’s watches and other materials were in it, but I am not sure if everything was there,” Rajiv said.

However, Tehlan said, “I am not surprised Rohit’s family says all these. What else can they say otherwise? Now the court has declared a status quo on everything, and I will leave it to the court to decide who is right and who is wrong.” The court is scheduled to consider the case in July.