Disqualification of SNDP Yogam director board: Vellappally, Thushar file appeal

KOCHI: Vellappally Natesan and Thushar Vellappally have filed an appeal before the division bench of the Kerala High Court against a single bench order that disqualified them from the director board of the SNDP Yogam.

The disqualification came while Vellappally Natesan was serving as the General Secretary and Thushar Vellappally as the Vice President of the organisation. The appeal argues that the single bench order exceeded its jurisdiction. The appeal is expected to be considered today by a bench headed by Chief Justice Soumen Sen. The petition also seeks a stay on the single bench order until the appeal is decided.

In the appeal filed through advocate A N Rajan Babu, it was argued that the High Court does not have the authority to interfere in the internal affairs of companies or disputes related to the disqualification of directors. Such matters, the appeal states, fall under the jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

A division bench had earlier ruled that SNDP Yogam is a private company and that writ petitions will not stand in matters related to its internal affairs. The appeal also argued that the single bench verdict was based on observations made in another case that has been stayed by the Supreme Court, and therefore, the order cannot be legally sustained.

The appeal states that the organisation has not failed to submit its annual returns. Earlier, returns were filed with the Registrar of Companies, but following a 2005 central government order, they began submitting them to the State Registrar General. The single bench order itself mentions that the organisation had submitted the returns properly. The appeal claims that some technical difficulties occurred because certain documents had remained in the custody of the High Court for several years.

Another reason cited for disqualifying the directors was the alleged absence of a Director Identification Number (DIN) issued by the state government. However, the appeal states that valid DIN numbers issued by the central government had already been submitted but were not considered by the single bench. It also notes that the state government has not even framed rules to issue such numbers. The appeal has requested that the March 12 verdict be set aside based on these inconsistencies.

The single bench issued the order while considering petitions filed by Prof. M. K. Sanu, S. Chandrasenan, and others. The petitions challenged an order of the Inspector General of Registration, which had earlier stated that the directors were not disqualified under the Companies Act. Others affected by the disqualification, including Dr M N Soman and Arayakkandi Santhosh, are also parties in the appeal. The single bench had also ordered that the state government appoint temporary directors until new directors are elected.