Invesco has challenged an order of the single bench judge of the high court in the matter against Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE).
Continuing his arguments on Tuesday, Janak Dwarkadas, senior counsel appearing for Invesco, said that the order of the single bench judge takes away the “democratic rights” of the shareholders.
Citing sections 98 and 100 of the Companies Act, he argued that there is no question on the validity of a requisition, and only the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is empowered to decide on the matter and not a civil court.
“The fate of the resolution is on the wisdom of the shareholders,” he said.
Invesco, which owns 17.88% in ZEE, is the company’s largest shareholder. The offshore investor had sent a requisition notice to the board of the company on September 11, seeking an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the shareholder to vote on removal of MD and CEO Punit Goenka from the company’s board and induction of six new independent directors.
ZEE board had declined to act on the requisition notice, calling it invalid due to multiple legal infirmities. ZEE also filed a civil suit in the Bombay high court, which granted an injunction in favour of the entertainment company.
While the matter is also pending in the NCLT, Invesco has challenged the injunction order of justice GS Patel in front of a division bench.
The division bench of Justice SJ Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav adjourned the hearing.
Law firm Dhruve Liladhar & Co is representing Invesco, while ZEE and Goenka are being represented by law firms Trilegal and Economy Laws Practice (ELP).
