The annual general meeting (AGM) of Birla Corporation, controlled by the Lodhas, today got adjourned midway, after a city court stayed it.
The meeting has been rescheduled to June 29. The Lodhas have moved the High Court against the order. The matter would be heard tomorrow, said Debanjan Mandal, partner, Fox & Mandal, solicitors for the Lodhas.
“Our contention is that the petition is completely malafide to obstruct the functioning of the company. The petitioner, Prabhat Sureka, is the son of Devki Kumar Sureka, who is an employee of Birla,” said Mandal.
It was business as usual for the first three hours and forty-five minutes of the AGM, even though a shareholder informed that the Alipore district court had passed a stay order on the holding of the AGM. The meeting proceeded on the ground that the order could not be served on the company.
After the shareholder queries, Harsh Lodha, chairman of Birla Corporation, started replying around 2 pm, while B R Nahar, executive director and chief executive officer, elaborated on the expansion plans.
All seemed routine, when suddenly the board and shareholders dispersed for a tea break, in an unprecedented move for an AGM. Fifteen minutes later, Lodha emerged to say the meeting was adjourned.
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“There are some developments. We have received an advocate’s letter about a stay order. Though the content is not clear, under legal advice we have decided to adjourn the meeting to be on the safer side. The next date is fixed for June 29,” said Lodha.
The M P Birla group has been fighting legal disputes since 2004 when Priyamvada Birla died, but allegedly bequeathed her assets in favour of Rajendra Singh Lodha (Harsh Lodha’s father who died in 2008). What ensued was a protracted legal battle between the Birlas and Lodhas.
The Alipore district court passed an ex-parte order of injunctions on the holding of the AGM of Birla Corporation after Prabhat Kumar Surekha, a shareholder, moved the court on the issue of postal ballots.
Last year, too, the AGM was adjourned on a court directive and then held a month and a half from the original date.
The complainant’s advocate said the order, procured late evening on Tuesday, was served to the company at its headquarters at 9:45 am. The company officials refused to accept the order, citing the absence of directors and key officials in the premises, who had the right to receive and accept such orders.
Subsequently, their advocate accepted the order around noon today. Thereafter, the company made an attempt to vacate the stay on the AGM at the Calcutta High Court. After the attempts failed, the company decided to announce the adjournment and postpone the AGM to June 29.
On the other hand, Lodha’s solicitor said they received an order, said to have been passed by the Alipore Court and served for the first time at Birla Corporation’s registered office at around 11:15 am and this was duly received. The time of receipt was endorsed on the receipt produced by the serving person. That itself would prove what was received and when, he said, adding that the company had not been served with a copy of the order.