Yes Bank Set To Vote In Dish TV's AGM
NCLT, Mumbai today cleared the deck for Yes Bank Ltd to vote in the AGM of Dish TV India Ltd. scheduled for later this month.
The Mumbai bench of the National Law Company Tribunal on Friday cleared the decks for Yes Bank Ltd. to vote in the annual general meeting of Dish TV India Ltd. scheduled for later this month.
The tribunal was hearing an application moved by a group of shareholders of Dish TV seeking to stay the company's Dec. 30. AGM.
Senior Advocate Soli Cooper, appearing for the shareholders' group, sought to restrain Yes Bank from voting on an item in the AGM—re-appointment of a company director who will retire soon, Ashok Mathai Kurien.
The lawyer appearing for Yes Bank said this request is against their right.
How can they (Dish TV's shareholders) restrain me (Yes Bank) from voting on an agenda which is put up in the AGM?Lawyer for YES Bank
Cooper also raised concerns over the manner in which Yes Bank acquired shares of the company.
Yes Bank should not be interested in running the company. They are deliberately trying to sideline ... they want to, in one way or the other ensure that the rights issue does not go through. Their conduct from the beginning has been extremely suspicious.Senior Advocate Soli Cooper for Dish TV's Shareholders' Group
The tribunal refused to grant relief to the shareholders' group.
It said that a blanket stay on the AGM won't be possible. To this, Cooper said that the shareholders are okay with the meeting taking place but the voting results must be kept in abeyance. This too, was rejected the tribunal.
We don't want to interfere with the process of the AGM. If the shareholders are aggrieved by any decision taken in the AGM, then they can move the tribunal.NCLT Mumbai
The tribunal will hear the matter next on Jan. 4.
Separately, Yes Bank won the round at the Bombay High Court as well on Thursday. The high court refused to grant interim relief to Dish TV's promoter group entity, World Crest Advisors LLP. Yes Bank informed the NCLT of this development during the proceedings on Friday. The high court's written order is not available yet.
The promoter entity had moved the high court against Yes Bank and Catalyst Trusteeship Ltd. seeking a declaration that it is the owner of 44,00,54,852 equity shares of Dish TV which are current held in the bank's demat account.
The high court refused to grant this relief to World Crest, allowed Yes Bank to vote in the AGM. But also said the result of the AGM will *abide by the outcome in World Crest's suit claiming Yes Bank’s shares in Dish TV.
With a 25.63% stake, Yes Bank is the single largest shareholder in the Essel Group-owned Dish TV and has been locked in a dispute with the company and its promoters since September this year. The bank is seeking removal of directors on the company's board, including managing director Jawahar Goel, who is the younger brother of Subhash Chandra, the founder of the Essel Group — that includes the Zee media empire.
The high court is expected to hear the matter in February next year.
*An earlier version of the story has said the result of the AGM will be subject to the outcome of the suit. But the exact words used in the Bombay High Court order were abide by. The two can have different implications depending on the circumstances and hence we have corrected it to the exact words used by the court.