IL&FS Board recast, Kotak tasked to restore financial health
Mumbai/New Delhi, Oct 1 : Under all-round attack over the crisis in the IL&FS, the Central government on Monday superseded the management of the beleaguered company by appointing a six-member Board led by banker Uday Kotak to restore the financial solvency of the debt-stricken conglomerate.
"The NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) suspended the existing board and directed that the suspended members should not represent the company in any form with immediate effect," an official statement said.
"The NCLT approved the induction of six Directors recommended by the government, in the first instance, consisting of Uday Kotak, MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank as Non-Executive Chairman and Vineet Nayyar, IAS (Retd.), G.N. Bajpai, former Chairman, SEBI, G.C. Chaturvedi, Non-Executive Chairperson, ICICI Bank, Malini Shankar, IAS and Nand Kishore, IA&AS (Retd.) as Directors," said Ministry of Corporate Affairs in a statement.
"The new Board shall take up its responsibility with immediate effect, after following due procedures."
The development comes after the NCLT Mumbai ordered the supersession of the existing Board on a plea moved by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to prevent any "further mismanagement in order to protect public interest".
In Delhi, Economic Affairs Secretary S.C. Garg said the government in public interest moved NCLT to supersede the management of Infrastructre Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) on grounds of mismanagement.
"NCLT has allowed appointment of a new Board comprising people with proven record of managing financial and infrastructure institutions. (It is) not a takeover," Garg said.
Key public sector lenders and undertakings such as LIC and SBI have a 25.34 per cent and 6.42 per cent stake in the firm which has around Rs 91,000 crore in long-term debt.
As per some industry estimates, the company has an urgent liquidity requirement of around Rs 5,000 crore.
The move is reminiscent of an earlier decision in which the Central government appointed a new Board of the IT major Satyam.
Earlier, the government said in a statement that after analysing the emerging situation of the IL&FS Group, it has come to the conclusion that "the governance and management change in IL&FS is very necessary for saving the group from financial collapse, which required an immediate change in the existing Board and management and appointment of a new management".
"Continuance of the present Board had become prejudicial to the interests of the company and its members and this management was affecting public interest because of its adverse impact on financial stability and making capital markets so adversely affected."
Lately, the credit crunch has led a few of the company's subsidiaries to default in servicing some of the inter-corporate deposits.
Subsequent to defaults, rating agency ICRA downgraded the ratings of its short-term and long-term borrowing programmes.
IL&FS crisis has dented equity investors' confidence in the entire NBFC space.
IL&FS Ltd is a core investment company and serves as the holding company of the IL&FS Group, with most business operations domiciled in separate companies which form an ecosystem of expertise across infrastructure, finance and social and environmental services.
Initially promoted by the Central Bank of India, Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd and the Unit Trust of India, IL&FS was incorporated in 1987.
Over the years, it has inducted institutional shareholders including SBI, LIC, ORIX Corporation of Japan and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).
As on March 31, 2018, LIC and ORIX Corporation are the largest shareholders in IL&FS with their stakeholding at 25.34 per cent and 23.54 per cent, respectively. Other prominent shareholders include ADIA (12.56 per cent), HDFC (9.02 per cent), CBI (7.67 per cent) and SBI (6.42 per cent).
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
