Delhi High Court dismissed the petitions of Nafcub and its incumbent President Jyotindra Mehta, in which they had challenged the award of the Arbitrator G C Saxena on Tuesday. “The copy of the judgment would be made available only on Thursday, though the hearing was completed on Tuesday”, Mukund Abhyankar informed Indian Cooperative on phone from Pune.
It paves the way for Abhyankar to reclaim the presidentship of the apex body of urban cooperative banks in the country, provided Nafcub and incumbent President Jyotindra Mehta do not go to the Supreme Court.
The Honourable bench of High Court observed that the agenda of dismissal was brought in the meeting without any prior intimation to the Directors. There should have been a separate meeting to discuss the issue with prior information to the members, Abhyankar quoted his Advocate on the observation of the Bench.
While Jyotindra Mehta did not pick up the phone, NAFCUB Chief Executive Subhas Gupta was too peeved to answer straight the queries from this correspondent.” I have no idea and how do you say the case has been dismissed; let the copy of judgment come before jumping the gun”, he shot back at this correspondent.
When reminded of Abhyanakar’s statement on dismissal, Gupta said” He knows everything; go and ask him.” Gupta also did not answer if a senior counsel of Supreme Court Mr Shetty was enlisted to argue on behalf of Nafcub and Mehta, as pointed out by Mr Abhyankar.
According to Mukund Abhyankar, Delhi High Court upheld the Award of Arbitrator. HC Bench also concurred with the arguments of Arbitrator on the issue of legalities of the Board meetings which ensured ouster of Abhyankar in March last year.
Court upheld Arbitration’s setting aside the proceedings of the two board meetings 147th and 148th. In the 147th Board meeting, a no-confidence motion was passed against Abhyankar and the 148th meeting decided to go for fresh elections.
The order also quashed election to the NAFCUB Board of Directors held on 20th March 2016, wherein Mr. Jyotinder Mehta was declared elected President of NAFCUB.
Nafcub has about 30 days of time to go to the Supreme Court. Or else it would have to reinstate Mukund Abhyankar as the President of NAFCUB, says legal experts. Abhyankar, meanwhile, is keeping his fingers crossed.