Four independent directors of Finolex Industries ceased to be part of the company’s board on Friday after failing to secure enough votes for their reappointment during the company’s annual general meeting (AGM).
Four special resolutions for the reappointment of non-executive independent directors—Bhumika Batra, Deepak Parikh, Pradeep Rathi and Anami Roy—each for a five-year term, were not passed at the 43rd AGM of Finolex Industries. Shareholders, however, did approve an ordinary resolution to reappoint Ritu P Chhabria as a director. Additionally, three other ordinary resolutions—covering the approval of accounts, declaration of dividends and remuneration of cost auditors—received shareholder approval. Both Anami Roy and Pradeep Rathi, aged 75, required member consent to continue as directors due to their age.
However, their reappointments fell short of the required 75% shareholder approval, with Roy securing only 52.40% of votes and Rathi 48.07%. Roughly 47.29% of shareholders voted against Roy’s reappointment, while 51.91% opposed Rathi’s. Deepak Parikh and Bhumika Batra faced similar opposition, with 52.28% of votes cast against their reappointment.
On September 19, Finolex Industries appointed four new non-executive independent directors—Debabrata Sarkar, Vijay Bhatt, Aditya Sapru and Munesh Khanna. Meanwhile, Ajit Venkataraman resigned as managing director of the company, with his resignation taking effect on November 20.
Finolex Industries did not comment on these developments. The Chhabria family, which founded Finolex Industries, holds 52.47% of the company, with 32.39% owned through Finolex Cables and 18.8% through Orbit Electricals.
The Chhabria family is divided into two factions: the Pralhad Group and the Kishan Group. Prakash Chhabria, son of Pralhad Chhabria, leads one faction, while Deepak Chhabria, son of Kishan Chhabria, heads the other.
The two cousins have been embroiled in a long-standing battle over control of the Finolex Group companies—Finolex Cables, Finolex Industries and Orbit Electricals. The core of the dispute centers on the control of Orbit, which holds stakes in both Finolex Cables and Finolex Industries.
In October 2023, Deepak Chhabria was ousted as whole-time director of Finolex Cables. On August 29, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) upheld the shareholders’ decision to vote against Deepak Chhabria’s reappointment as executive chairman of Finolex Cables.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
