DIN Mandate: Vellappally Natesan and top SNDP officials disqualified by High Court

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has ruled that a state-issued Director Identification Number (DIN) is mandatory for the appointment of directors to the SNDP Yogam. This landmark decision effectively disqualifies the current leadership, including General Secretary Vellappally Natesan, President Dr. M.N. Soman, Vice President Thushar Vellappally, and Devaswom Secretary Arayakandy Santhosh. To ensure the organization remains functional, the court has directed the state government to appoint temporary directors to oversee day-to-day operations until a new board can be elected at a general meeting.

The Single Bench further clarified that since a DIN is a mandatory legal requirement, any individual lacking one is ineligible to be appointed or to continue serving as a director of the Yogam. In its ruling, the High Court invoked Section 164(2) of the Companies Act, which stipulates a five-year disqualification for directors if an entity fails to file annual returns for three consecutive years. Although the Yogam argued that it had filed the overdue returns later—citing approval under the Companies Fresh Start Scheme (CFSS), 2020—the court maintained that the failure to meet the initial statutory requirements triggered the disqualification.

Justice T.R. Ravi's order disposed of the earlier petitions filed by Prof. M.K. Sanu, Adv. S. Chandrasenan and Dr. K. Raghu, who had sought the removal of the directors, saying that the current governing body had not submitted the accounts since 2006. They had approached the High Court after the Inspector General of Registration rejected this demand. The petitioners had pointed out that SNDP Yogam is operating as a public limited company.

The court also directed the Registration IG to take necessary further steps in the event of the directors resigning.

Will appeal: Vellappally

Vellappally Natesan announced that he will appeal against the High Court single bench verdict. "It is the law that DIN is required. However, the Kerala government does not have the mechanism to issue it. We all have the DIN of the central government. Let the law take its course," he said.