The Kerala Excessive Court docket on Thursday disqualified distinguished Hindu neighborhood chief Velappally Natesan and his son Tushar Velappally from being administrators of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP Yogam).
Justice TR Ravi issued this order after listening to a collection of petitions difficult the continued existence of the Natesan household on the helm of Yogam. One of many petitioners was literary critic MK Sanu, who handed away final yr.
Whereas Mr. Natesan is thought for his pro-CPI(M) strategy, his son is the president of NDA ally Bharatiya Jana Sena (BDJS) in Kerala. On Republic Day this yr, Natesan was awarded the Padma Bhushan. A petition searching for instructions to put aside the award can even be filed in court docket.
The order may have political implications because it may reshape energy relations inside the group and doubtlessly affect how sections of the Ezhava neighborhood align politically, particularly at a time when each the ruling Left Democratic Entrance (LDF) and the NDA are searching for to curry favor with the neighborhood, which constitutes about 24% of the state’s inhabitants forward of the following meeting polls.
SNDP and Hindu unity
SNDP Yogam, based in 1903 to disseminate the teachings of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru and characterize the pursuits of the Ezhava neighborhood, is among the largest caste-based organizations in Kerala. In recent times, Natesan has additionally been concerned in makes an attempt to carry collectively main Hindu neighborhood organizations comparable to SNDP Yogam and the Nile Service Society (NSS), which represents the influential Nile neighborhood, which makes up about 12% of the inhabitants.
The proposed SNDP-NSS alliance was mentioned in a number of conferences between Natesan and the NSS management, together with Basic Secretary G. Sukumaran Nehru, and was seen as an effort to strengthen Hindu social teams within the state’s political panorama, however it didn’t grow to be a proper alliance as Nehru withdrew from the unification effort following Natesan’s appointment as Padma Bhushan.
What did the court docket observe?
Primarily based on a petition filed in 2024, the Excessive Court docket issued a collection of instructions. The court docket put aside the state Registrar’s Inspector Basic’s order refusing to contemplate the disqualification of Yogam administrators. The court docket held that Natesan and his son have been disqualified beneath Part 164(2) of the Corporations Act 2013 and weren’t eligible for reappointment as administrators as they’d not complied with the statutory necessities.
Yogam is taken into account a public firm beneath relevant regulation. In response to part 274(1)(g) of the Corporations Act 1956, an individual is disqualified from being a director of a public firm if the corporate fails to file its annual accounts and returns for a steady interval of three monetary years.
The petitioners alleged that the administrators suffered disqualification from 2009 onwards as Yogam didn’t file any such returns from 2006-2016-17 until 2020. Beforehand, when the matter was raised earlier than the Registrar, it was dismissed on the premise that the events ought to search reduction in civil court docket.
The court docket stated that until one is in possession of a Director Identification Quantity (DIN), he’s not eligible for reappointment as a director of SNDP Yogam. The court docket additionally dominated that the 2 males can’t maintain workplace beneath the provisions of the Kerala Non-Buying and selling Corporations Act, 1961 as they don’t maintain DINs. In accordance with the order, Natesan and others should resign.
Following the order, Tushar stated in a video message that he’s searching for authorized redress. “This problem could also be resolved in a number of days, however we have now to face collectively. SNDP Yogam board members have utilized for DIN,” he added.
The court docket additionally directed the state authorities to nominate interim administrators till a brand new director is elected after Yogam’s basic assembly. Yogam’s different two administrators are the group’s president Dr. MN Soman and board member Alayakandil Santosh.
The petitioners have been searching for a declaration of disqualification from the board, directions to carry free and honest elections, and a ruling that Yogam can’t management the union or its branches.
The court docket famous that Yogam has over 32 million members and oversees microfinance credit and distribution of round Rs 4,500 crore, in addition to a number of instructional establishments. “The general public curiosity lies in guaranteeing that yogam is legally and correctly managed, not in satisfying the personal pursuits of officers,” the court docket stated.
The court docket additionally discovered that Mr. Natesan and others continued in workplace after the expiration of their phrases. The 2015 elections couldn’t be legally justified as a result of not all members have been allowed to vote. A Division Bench of the Excessive Court docket had beforehand dominated that the administrators took workplace in 2015 and continued to take action based mostly on invalid provisions within the firm’s articles of affiliation. With out holding elections, the respondents managed to take care of management of Yogam.
“Primarily based on the above factual background, if the claims of the suspects’ attorneys that the disqualification has ended are accepted, this is able to in impact admit illegality and perpetuate the illegality,” the court docket stated.
