Ness Wadia’s brush with the law isn’t a fresh event. The 47-year-old scion of the 283-year-old Wadia Group yet again made headlines on Tuesday after his name popped up in a case involving him carrying banned substance – cannabis -- to Japan. Ness, who was on a skiing trip to Japan’s Sakkodo province, was handed two-year prison for possessing drugs.
“It is a suspended sentence. Hence it will not impact Ness Wadia in the discharge of any of his responsibilities and he will continue to play the role that he has done hitherto, both within the Group and outside," said a Wadia group spokesperson.
Ness’ past brush with law enforcement
The eldest son of the illustrious Wadias, who also co-owns the IPL team King’s XI Punjab, was in news back in 2014 when his then-girlfriend, Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, filed a suit against him for molesting her. Zinta went further with the case and filed a petition with the Bombay High Court to take cognizance of the matter. The couple apparently had a fight at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium just before the commencement of a cricket match. The case was settled out of court last year with Zinta issuing a statement saying, she wants to “move on in life”.
In 2016, a non-cognisable case was registered against Ness for allegedly physically assaulting and abusing his driver who didn’t comply with his demand for driving fast.
As per Bloomberg data, Ness is the 11th richest Indian with a net worth of $7.1 billion. The stocks of Wadia group, Bombay Burmah, and Bombay Dyeing plummeted after the news of Ness’ arrests surfaced.