In search of Hiranandanis: Niranjan Hiranandani and his son Darshan Hiranandani have been summoned by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with a forex violation case, according to media reports. The summons, issued shortly after a search operation at their premises, requires them to appear at the ED's office in south Mumbai on Monday.

Darshan Hiranandani, a non-resident Indian (NRI) residing in Dubai, was notified of the summons via email, as disclosed by The Economic Times.

Who is Darshan Hiranandani?

Darshan Hiranandani is the son of Niranjan Hiranandani, an Indian billionaire businessman, co-founder and managing director of Hiranandani Group, engaged in real estate business.  Darshan, beyond his role as the CEO of Hiranandani Group, also holds chairman positions in several affiliated companies of the group, including Yotta Data Services, H-Energy, Tarq Semiconductors, and Tez Platforms. 

Darshan, 36 years of age, has acquired a Master's degree with a major in entrepreneurship and finance from Rochester Institute of Technology. Niranjan Hiranandani, while addressing the gathering, underlined that Darshan will assume the mantle of leadership in real estate, with the acknowledgement that he will be second in command as long as Niranjan is actively involved.

Darshan expanding Hiranandani’s business

Niranjan Hiranandani, the founder and Managing Director of Hiranandani Group, disclosed his succession plan for the multi-billion dollar real estate conglomerate. The designated heir to this extensive empire is his son, Darshan Hiranandani, who presently holds the position of Chief Executive Officer at Hiranandani Group.

Apart from being responsible for Hiranandani Group's operations in Dubai, Darshan also oversees the energy venture of the company, H-Energy. Furthermore, Darshan Hiranandani is instrumental in the company's recent foray into the field of data centre parks, spearheading a venture named Yotta Infrastructure. 

This venture will specialise in the design, construction, and operation of large-scale hyper-density data centres aimed at serving various companies. The inaugural data centre is slated to commence operations in Panvel, Navi Mumbai, with a second centre planned for Chennai.

The Hiranandani Group, a major player in the real estate sector, is diversifying into data centres, cloud computing, energy, and industrial warehousing & logistics. They own substantial land parcels across India, totalling over 1800 acres, which will be utilised to construct data centres.

Recent controversy 

Last year, in a parliamentary allegation against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, BJP’s MP Nishikant Dubey submitted a letter to the Speaker of the lower house, suggesting Moitra’s direct involvement in a 'Cash for Query' for the Hiranandani Group, asking for an enquiry against her.

In the letter submitted to Om Birla, Speaker of the House, it is alleged that a significant portion of Mahua Moitra's questions during the parliamentary proceedings were focused on protecting or promoting the business interests of Hiranandani and his company. Dubey contends that this scandal is akin to the infamous 'Cash for Query' episode that occurred in 2005.