FI nominee not needed: SWC

CALCUTTA, FEB 25: Shaw Wallace feels there is no need for the financial institutions to have a nominee on its board, according to the company’s petition now before a division bench of the Calcutta High Court. The petition will be heard on Thursday.

The FIs, which control a stake of 25.77 per cent in the liquor major, had lost their only nominee when P K Pandit was voted out by the management after the annual general meeting on December 30, 1997. SWC has said that the CLB already has its nominees whose "wishes were invariably respected and carried out by the petitioner company (so) there was no need at all for the appointment of an institutional director." SWC filed its petition after the CLB directed the FIs on January 21 to nominate their representative within ten days. Appealing under Section 10F of the Companies Act, SWC prayed for a stay on the reinstatement of Pandit on the board. However, on February 19, Justices S K Sen and N A Choudhury of the HC refused the stay, and will now dwell on the questionof maintainability of SWC’s petition at the hearing on Thursday.