Religare's Rashmi Saluja Moves Delhi High Court With Plea To Dismiss Burmans' Open Offer

Religare Enterprises Ltd.’s Chairperson Rashmi Saluja has filed a petition before the Delhi High Court against the Securities and Exchange Board of India, three Burman family entities, Religare Enterprises and JM Financial for non-compliance, violations of RBI conditions, lack of disclosures and suppressing a competing open offer. She has requested the court to dismiss the Burmans' open offer process and prayed that if the offer proceeds, it should fulfil the conditions set by the RBI.

Saluja alleged that the markets regulator did not take the necessary action to protect the investors and minority shareholders in the entire Religare, according to the copy of the petition viewed by NDTV Profit. She also argued that her removal as Executive Chairperson of REL during the Annual General Meeting on Feb. 7 was illegal.

The petition said that the Reserve Bank of India granted conditional approval for the open offer on Dec. 9, 2024, requiring the acquirers to consolidate their non-banking financial companies and submit a detailed plan within 90 days, but Saluja contends that the acquirers have failed to meet these conditions and that SEBI has allowed the offer to proceed despite this non-compliance.

Saluja's petition also mentioned the competing offer made by the US-based businessman, Danny Gaekwad. The petition alleged that the market regulator did not allow Gaekwad to make an offer at first, leading to legal challenges, including a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court, which directed that the open offer cannot be closed until Gaekwad’s offer is considered.

Gaekwad’s offer included a 17% premium over the Rs 235-a-share offer made by the Burman family for a 26% stake in Religare. Additionally, his offer was for a 55% stake in the company.

The Apex Court had also directed Gaekwad to make a payment of Rs 600 crore to have his offer considered and had extended the open offer by the Burman family till Feb. 12.