A division bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday rejected a petition by Dish TV which sought to restrain YES Bank from voting at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to remove promoter Jawahar Goel. The EGM will be held on Friday (June 24), in which YES Bank will be allowed to vote.
World Crest Advisors LLP, comprising representatives from Dish TV, had made the appeal to a higher bench after the single judge bench at the Bombay High Court rejected granting ad interim relief to the company.
Loan default
The bench, led by Justice Gautum S Patel and MJ Jamdard, said, “World Crest has not made any case. The single judge is right in rejecting the ad interim relief restraining YES Bank and Catalyst Trusteeship from voting in the EGM. The appeal is dismissed.”
Dish TV had argued that according to a past Supreme Court judgment on PTC India Financial Services, lenders or pledgees are not the owner of shares and cannot exercise rights once the pledged shared are revoked. However, the court noted that World Crest was in default of the loan and it could not redeem the securities; even YES Bank does not have any remedy to sell those shares.
Where it began
The battle between Dish TV and YES Bank began last year, wherein the lender sought to remove the promoters, after Dish TV defaulted on its loans. YES Bank has demanded the EGM to oust the promoter and managing director, Jawahar Goel, along with four other directors, seeking reorganisation of the board citing lapse in corporate governance. The EGM has been much delayed, as Dish TV tried to postpone the meeting using legal means.
YES Bank will now vote on Friday on the issue.