HC asks Yes Bank to advance board meet, Madhu to name Gogia as nominee

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has asked private lender Yes Bank to advance its board meeting and hold it before June 27 while asking plaintiff Madhu Kapur, wife of the bank’s deceased co-founder Ashok Kapur, to name her nominee for a board position.

Justice S J Kathawala directed Madhu Kapur to make a formal representation to the bank, nominating her daughter Shagun Gogia as nominee-director, so that the bank could then

place the proposal before the board. Kapur owns 12 percent stake in the bank.

The bank, which was to have board meeting on July 24, was asked by the court to advance it before June 27, to consider and take a decision on Madhu’s nominee.

The court will hear the matter again on July 1. High Court was hearing a petition filed by Madhu and her children challenging the nominations of Diwan Arun Nanda, Ravish Chopra and MR Srinivasan as directors of the bank.

On Monday the bank released outcome of the shareholders’ meeting in which 80 percent of the shareholders who participated in the voting concurred with the appointments.

Reacting to the development in the court, the bank in a statement said its chairman MR Srinivasan and managing director and chief executive Rana Kapoor had on June 6, 2013

- prior to the AGM on June 8, and before any litigation was filed by her - offered to discuss Madhu Kapur’s nominee at its scheduled board meeting of July 24. But she did not put up any name formally.

On the court asking the bank to advance the board meeting before June 27, the statement said, “This is in line with Yes Bank’s proposal as per its letter dated June 6.” According to the plaintiffs, they should have been consulted before appointment of directors.

The court last Friday allowed the bank to hold its AGM last Saturday and said if appointment was made to the post of director then it shall be subject to final order of the court. The bank’s lawyer Soli Cooper on Monday told the court that it was ready to consider Madhu’s nominee for the post of director, but a formal representation will have to be made to the board.

Justice Kathawala then asked her to submit her nomination to the bank by June 15. The bank shall consider the same during its board meeting. The main grievance of the plaintiffs is that they have not been consulted by Rana Kapoor, who holds 13.72 percent stake in the bank. Rana is brother-in-law of the deceased Ashok Kapur, who was the chairman of the bank when he was killed in the 26/11 terrorist attacks at the Oberoi hotel.

Senior counsel Birendra Saraf, appearing for the plaintiffs, argued that the three new directors were recommended by Rana Kapoor without concurrence of the present plaintiffs.

According to the plaintiffs, the notice of the June AGM was issued to them on May 15, and prior to that they were not aware of the nominations of these three persons by Kapoor.

However, the bank said the plaintiffs were informed about the three persons to be elected as directors last September when their appointment as additional directors was notified to the stock exchange.

PTI