London: A British Sikh businessman has lost a legal battle against international professional services firm KPMG over the loss of his holy books. Hardial Bhabra had claimed that the "palki" or Sikh religious texts went missing when KPMG was conducting his television set company's administration proceedings. An appeal court has rejected his appeal against an October 2013 judgement that the firm was not responsible for the loss of religious artefacts from the premises of Bhabra's former company.

KPMG was first appointed as administrators to Hardial Limited and HDS Studios Limited in 2004. Initial litigation, brought by the Bhabra family in 2005, was based around the convergence of assets. The family claimed they were unable to enter and retrieve assets that were owed during administration, which follows bankruptcy proceedings in the UK. A spokesperson for KPMG said, "The loss of any items of personal or religious significance are regrettable in any circumstance, and that is particularly true when they cannot be replaced."However, in this particular instance, and as Mr Justice Newey noted in a consequential hearing in December 2013, this loss was not the responsibility of the officeholders or KPMG."