Anil Nanda for independent review of funds

To ensure that the Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre's (EHIRC) assets and funds are not misappropriated and diluted by the management, Anil Nanda, the estranged brother of Escorts Chairman Rajan Nanda, today sought appointment of an independent committee appointed by the court to look into the matter.

According to counsels VP Singh and Mukul Rohtagi, appearing for Anil Nanda, in order to get the attachment of bank accounts vacated EHIRC had submitted a post dated cheque dated November 25 of Rs 5 crore against its tax liabilities.

The income tax department had issued notice for attaching of various bank accounts of EHIRC with Grindlays Bank against levy of huge tax. which has now risen to Rs 87.03 crore, the counsels said.

Anil, in its application filed through counsel PK Bansal, sought the court directions to ensure that EHIRC's charitable character was preserved and protected during the interim period and its corpus and funds were not diluted or frittered away.

According to counsels, despite the court had ordered maintenance of status quo on September 30, EHIRC had still not stopped from fretting away/diluting the assets/corpus of EHIRC-Delhi Society.

While issuing notices to non-applicants and asking them to file their replies by December 15, Justice Anil Kumar said that the interim order for maintenance of stay on the sale of EHIRC to the Ranbaxy controlled Fortis Healthcare will continue.

According to the application, the defendants have offered Rs 100 crore to DDA to permit EHIRC to run it as a commercial enterprise on a land which was leased to it on the basis of a charitable society.

DDA, which had allotted about for 6.9 acre of land for setting up the heart institute in the Capital, had already preferred eviction proceedings against EHIRC in terms of Delhi development authority Rules (Disposal of Developed Nazul Land) Rules, 1981, it said.

The charitable institute had no tax liability and its revenue had grown from Rs 10.98 crore in 1987-1988 to Rs 110.14 crore in 1999-2000. Besides, its net block value which was only Rs 86.85 lakh in 1988 had incresed to Rs 25.26 crore in 2000.

From an operating income of zero in 1988 and Rs 2.61 crore in 1989, EHIRC's operating income had increased to rs 113.14 crore in 2000. The profit before tax of Rs 25.87 crore had gone up to Rs 39 crore in 2001-2002, according to Anil.