Kerala HC Division Bench Stays Single Bench Order Disqualifying SNDP Yogam Office-Bearers

Kochi: The Kerala High Court division bench on Monday stayed the single bench order that had disqualified all office-bearers and the entire Board of Directors of the SNDP Yogam, including its general secretary Vellappally Natesan, over alleged non-compliance with statutory requirements under the Companies Act.

The division bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M stayed the order passed by Justice T R Ravi on a batch of petitions, including one filed by late professor M K Sanoo, alleging irregularities in the functioning of the organisation.

Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam is a prominent community organisation representing the numerically strong Ezhava community in Kerala.

Apart from Natesan, the single bench had also disqualified Thushar Vellappally, M N Soman and Santhosh, also known as Arayakkandil Santhosh, from the organisation's Board of Directors.

However, Natesan and others approached the division bench contending that the writ petitions were not maintainable, as the issue of disqualification of directors and management of a company falls under the Companies Act, 2013, and within the jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal.

When the matter was first considered on March 19, the division bench had not granted a stay and instead directed maintenance of the status quo until a new list of directors was brought out. When the case came up again for consideration, the court issued a stay on the single-bench order.

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