Founder's wife given control of Biological E. Limited
Renuka Datla faced acts of oppression by e daughters, their husbands: Judge.
Hyderabad: In a new twist to the ongoing legal battle between Renuka Datla, wife of late Vijay Kumar Raju Datla, founder of Hyderabad-based Biological E. Limited, and her three daughters for control over the company, the Hyderabad High Court has superseded the Board of Directors of the company. Following the demise of Vijay Kumar Datla, Biological E., a family-owned company, plunged into the vortex of litigation with the mother on one side and the three daughters on the other side.
Pointing out that the three daughters have indulged in acts of oppression against their mother, Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao allowed an appeal by Ms Renuka challenging an order of Company Law Board (CLB) at Chennai, and removed Ms Purnima, Ms, Indira and Ms Mahima and their husbands from their directorship of the company.
Earlier, the CLB had approved a resolution appointing Ms Renuka’s three daughters and their husbands on the Board of Directors. The judge held that Forms-32 filed for their appointment as managing director/director/whole time director of the company was null and void ab initio. The judge allowed Ms Renuka to regulate the conduct of the affairs of the company in the future and also authorised her to increase the number of Directors on the Board.
The judge said it was open to Ms Renuka to appoint a committee of advisers to advise the Board on managing the company’s affairs, and after the expiry of 3 years period referred to the above, a fresh Board of Directors may be constituted as provided in the Act and the Articles of Association of the Company. The judge ruled that Ms Renuka’s three daughters and their husbands have no authority to deal with the movable or immovable assets of the company, including the various bank accounts of the company hereafter.
While allowing the appeal, the judge directed Ms Renuka’s three daughters to pay Rs 25,000 to her. The judge said that the judgment shall not come into effect for 4 weeks and during this period also, there shall be no dealing with the moveable or immoveable properties of the company.