A dispute over a £400,000 inheritance has brought two brothers before Central London County Court, after one claimed their father was pressured into changing his will months before his death.
Bani Verma, a 67-year-old taxi driver, is challenging a 2023 will which left the estate to his younger brother, driving instructor Harish Verma, and Harish’s wife, Paramjit.
Their father, Gowerdhan Dass, died aged 89 in February 2024. An earlier will, made in 2015, had divided his assets between the families of his four children.
Bani alleges that Harish unduly influenced their father and helped turn him against his eldest son. His legal team also claims that money was taken from Mr Dass’s accounts before his death, reducing the value of the estate.
Richard Buston, representing Bani, told the court that Harish and Paramjit had isolated Mr Dass, who was “elderly, frail and vulnerable”, from relatives and friends during the final years of his life.
He alleged that Harish had become a joint account holder and that a series of transfers and payments had been made from Mr Dass’s money. Seven transactions totalling about £41,000 were highlighted, including £18,750 paid towards a Jaguar Land Rover which was subsequently said to have been given to Paramjit.
Mr Buston said other money from the account had allegedly been used for family travel, celebrations, food and gifts. He argued that Harish had both the opportunity and a financial motive to persuade their father that Bani had abandoned him.
Harish denies coercing his father or encouraging him to believe that Bani had stopped visiting or calling. His barrister, Nina Roberts, said Mr Dass remained mentally sharp and understood the contents of the 2023 will.
She told Judge Jonathan Cohen that Mr Dass had visited Harish “every day” after moving from Southall, west London, to Slough in 2010. Although he continued to live independently and regularly travelled to India, she said he relied on and trusted his younger son.
Ms Roberts disputed Bani’s account of their contact, saying evidence suggested his last visit to his father had been in January 2022. She also referred to a mobile phone log which, she said, recorded no calls from Bani between February 2022 and Mr Dass’s death.
The court heard that the brothers’ relationship was also being examined through events surrounding the funeral. Harish’s lawyers accused Bani of showing disrespect by wearing a tartan Tam o’ Shanter hat at Harish’s home on the day of the service.
Ms Roberts said Bani had been “laughing and smiling as if it were a wedding” and argued that the headgear was inappropriate because neither brother had Scottish heritage. Bani’s legal team rejected the wider claims about his relationship with his father, saying Harish had prevented contact during Mr Dass’s final years.
Mr Buston said the 2015 will had provided for the main branches of the family, while the later document excluded those allegedly said to have abandoned Mr Dass and left the entire residue to Harish and his wife.
Harish’s barrister said a close relationship between father and son, including financial dealings dating back to their joint purchase of property in India in the 1990s, did not amount to coercion. She said Mr Dass had been a “jolly, sociable man” and that there was no question of Harish isolating him.
The hearing was adjourned after two days to allow further evidence to be submitted. The case is due to resume later this month.
