Religare Row: Delhi High Court Refuses AGM Halt In Rashmi Saluja Case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to pass an interim order to halt the annual general meeting of Religare Enterprises Ltd.

Dr. Rashmi Saluja had moved the Delhi High Court against her removal as a director of Religare Enterprises, as she wished to continue in her current role till 2028, according to the petition copy seen by NDTV Profit.

The Religare AGM is slated to take place on Feb. 7.

The filing copy further mentioned that Saluja wished to avoid retirement by rotation.

Her plea challenged Section 152 (6) of the Companies Act , which mandates that one-third of the board, excluding independent directors, has to retire yearly. As the sole executive director, Saluja faced annual retirement under this rule.

Hearing in the matter took place before the bench of Justice PK Kaurav in the Delhi High Court.

Saluja wishes to prevent the proposal at the upcoming annual general meeting, aimed at appointing a director in her place at Religare. She submitted that this resolution was invalid as she has a fixed five-year term as per the Companies Act, 2013 and her contractual rights were being violated. She was appointed in her role in 2020.

Saluja's main ask is that Religare should be prevented from voting or implementing the resolution to oust her from the board. The case is slated to be heard on Tuesday, before the single judge bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav.

Meanwhile, Sapna Govind Rao, a minority shareholder with 500 shares in Religare Enterprises, has moved the Delhi High Court to stop the Dabur fame Burman family's acquisition of the company's stake.

Rao has instead supported the counteroffer given by Danny Gaekwad, which SEBI returned.