A settlement was finally reached but the terms remain confidential

The dispute centred around claims from two of the daughters that they had been cheated out of their shares from their late father Laxmishankar Pathak.

Anila Shastri, 52, and Chitralekha Mehta, 56, took company boss Kirit Pathak to court claiming their mother had given him their shares.

The dispute was settled on undisclosed terms in the High Court on Monday.

It was originally supposed to have ended two and a half years ago with an agreement under which the sisters expected to receive around �4 million each to settle their claim.

Mrs Mehta (left) said the battle was about family unity not money

The daughters said they had allowed their mother to have the shares for safekeeping and that they never intended to lose control of them.

Kirit, of Heaton, Bolton, later bought out his brothers and parents to take control of the award-winning Indian food company which is based in Lancashire.

Mrs Mehta said: "We are both very happy. We have won and the truth has prevailed.

"This was not about the money. We have fought this case to get back what we thought was rightfully ours - that is, the shares in the company."

The daughters argued they were victims of a Hindu culture in which business assets always went to the sons of a family.