The Kerala High Court on Thursday dealt a major setback to Vellappally Natesan by removing him from the post of General Secretary of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP Yogam) and disqualifying the organisation’s entire Board of office-bearers for violations of corporate regulations.
SNDP is the social wing of the powerful Hindu Ezhava community and he has been at the helm of affairs for the past more than quarter of a century.
The order was issued by a Bench of Justice C.T. Ravi while considering petitions filed by noted writer and social activist M.K. Sanu and Protection Committee chairman S. Chandrasenan, who had alleged serious irregularities in the functioning of the organisation.
Along with Natesan, the court disqualified several senior leaders including Vice-President Tushar Vellappally (son of Natesan), President M.N. Soman and Devaswom Secretary Arayakkandi Santhosh.
In total, about 170 Board members were declared ineligible to continue in their positions.
The court noted that the SNDP Yogam, which is registered under provisions linked to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, had failed to comply with mandatory corporate regulations.
According to the court, the organisation had not submitted its annual income and expenditure statements for nearly nine years.
Observing that failure to submit statutory accounts for three consecutive years can attract disqualification under company law provisions, the court found that the SNDP leadership had not filed financial statements since 2014.
The judgment also pointed out that several directors did not possess the mandatory Director Identification Number (DIN) required under corporate governance rules.
Taking note of these violations and the report submitted by the Registrar of Companies, the High Court held that the existing office bearers were legally disqualified from continuing in their positions.
The court directed that a new Board of Directors be appointed to oversee the functioning of the organisation.
Until then, a temporary Board will manage the affairs of the SNDP Yogam and ensure that fresh elections are conducted in accordance with the law.
Reacting to the verdict, Natesan confirmed that the court had removed not only him but the entire set of office-bearers. He said he would respond in detail after studying the judgment.
The ruling marks one of the most significant legal setbacks for Natesan, who has exercised considerable influence over the organisation for decades.
