Kerala High Court Removes Vellappally Natesan As SNDP General Secretary

Ernakulam: In a major legal blow to the leadership of the social service organisation Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, the Kerala High Court has ordered the removal of Vellappally Natesan from the post of General Secretary. The court also disqualified Vice-President Tushar Vellappally and several other directors from their positions on the board. The verdict was delivered on Thursday by Justice T R Ravi on a petition filed by a group of individuals including the late M K Sanu, though the detailed order is awaited.

The court's decision is based on the violation of the Companies Act. As the SNDP Yogam, named after social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, is registered as a company, the court found that the leadership failed to submit the mandatory audited accounts to the authorities on time. Specifically, it was discovered that the organisation had failed to file its audit reports for three consecutive years.

The legal battle began in 2020, when a petition reached the High Court seeking the disqualification of Vellappally Natesan. The petitioners pointed out that the SNDP Yogam had not submitted its financial records to the Registrar of Companies since 2006. Under the prevailing laws, board members lose their right to continue in office if the company fails to file financial statements or annual returns for a continuous period of three financial years.

With the court declaring the current administration's tenure as legally invalid, key figures including General Secretary Vellappally Natesan, President M N Soman, Vice-President Tushar Vellappally, and Devaswom Secretary Arayakkandi Santhosh are barred from continuing as board members. This ruling marks a significant shift in the administrative landscape of the SNDP Yogam, one of Kerala's most influential social organisations known widely to represent the state's Ezhava community.