At the heart of a family dispute, an ailing British billionaire is deprived of adequate care

In a family dispute, an octogenarian British billionaire suffering from dementia has been deprived of adequate care, prompting a judge to consider placement in a public retirement home, we learned Friday after the judge accepted the names at the center of the case will be revealed.

The case concerns 86-year-old Srichand Hinduja and the eldest of the UK’s richest family. According to the Sunday Times 2022 ranking, the family’s wealth exceeds 28 billion pounds (about $44 billion).

Suffering from dementia, Hinduja was admitted to hospital in March 2021, but as his health improved, his family could not find a solution to keep him and care for him, “despite extraordinary financial means”, lamented judge Justice Hayden. A transcript of the hearing, details of which emerged on Friday.

Insisting that Mr Hinduja had been “marginalised” by his family, the judge said he was “considering placing him in a public retirement home”.

For Judge Hayden, “Srichand’s vulnerability was appalling and deeply distressing”. “I was told he was a loved and respected man. That cannot happen to him. It is not respected” in this case.

In cases involving people whose mental health prevents them from making decisions for themselves, the names of the protagonists are not normally made public, but an appeals court made an exception at the request of journalists who cited the case’s public interest.

The Hinduja family, and notably the two brothers Srichand and Gopichand, head the international conglomerate Hinduja Group, which has businesses specializing in banking, finance and health and employs more than 150,000 people worldwide.

The family deal erupted after a dispute involving a bank in Switzerland. The dispute continued after Srichand Hinduja fell ill, giving power of attorney to his daughters to manage his affairs.

Although the case is still unresolved, the family assured Judge Hayden that they had agreed on ‘terms and conditions’ to end ‘all litigation’.

Srichand Hinduja’s two daughters agreed to waive their father’s powers of attorney, citing a third party to handle the octogenarian’s affairs, according to the judge.