A UK judge has raised concern about the welfare of billionaire Srichand Hinduja, the eldest of four brothers behind the Hindjua Group conglomerate, after the family became embroiled in a feud.
Judge Anthony Hayden said that at one point he had been "driven to consider a placement in a public nursing home" for Srichand Hinduja, who suffers from dementia, it emerged on Friday.
The Hindujas topped the Sunday Times Rich List in 2022 with a fortune estimated at £28.4 billion.
But the judge said that despite the financial means at their disposal, Srichand Hinduja's needs had become "marginalised" by the family dispute.
The judge's concerns for Srichand Hinduja's welfare were outlined in written rulings published following earlier public hearings in the court of protection in London.
Details of the case emerged on Friday after a separate ruling that those involved could be named.
The disclosures follow Srichand Hinduja's admission to hospital in March 2021 after doctors said they expected he had very little time to live.
But after his health rallied, his family failed to find private accommodation for him.
The judge added that he had been told that the family intended to end "all disputes" between them in "all jurisdictions".
The family business was founded by the brothers' father Parmanand Hinduja who traded in tea and dried fruit in Mumbai in 1919 before moving it to Iran.
The brothers took over in the 1960s and greatly expanded the business.
The sprawling Hinduja Group -- led by London-based Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja -- now spans interests in power, oil and gas, banking, and healthcare.