Reschedule board meet to June 27: Bombay HC asks YES Bank

Earlier, meeting was to held on July 24 to consider appointment of Shagun Kapur Gogia as director on the board

The Bombay High Court (HC) directed YES Bank today to bring forward the date of its board of directors’ meeting to June 27, to consider the appointment of Shagun Kapur Gogia on to the body.

Madhu Kapur, widow of the late Ashok Kapur, a co-founder of the bank, had earlier petitioned the court. She’d said she was not consulted in the appointment of three more directors, violating the bank’s articles of association. She’d sought a stay on the bank’s annual general meeting (AGM), held two days earlier. The HC’s vacation bench to stay the AGM but said the appointment of directors, if confirmed, would be subject to its directions.

Gogia is Kapur’s daughter and the latter’s nominee for director. The bank’s directive today was in response to bank’s counsel saying the board was ready to consider the nominee of Kapur and had already told her this would be discussed in the board meeting scheduled for July 24.

“Before the battle becomes bitter, resolve the matter,” judge S J Kathawala said. “At the moment, the battle is not very bitter; there is respect for the uncle (Rana Kapoor, the other co-founder and the bank’s present head).” YES Bank’s counsel agreed to the court’s suggestion and said the bank was ready to advance its board meeting.

In today’s arguments, senior counsel J J Bhatt, appearing for Madhu Kapur, said the petitioner was not insisting her nominee be appointed but only that she be consulted before board appointments.

Bhatt added it wasn’t she who’d insisted Gogia be appointed; he said the indication came from YES Bank director M R Srinivasan during the consultations on the issue with Rana Kapoor.

According to the counsel, Kapur’s representations to Rana Kapoor were misconstrued by him as a demand for her nominee to be appointed as board member.

Rana Kapoor issued a statement that the HC’s order was in line with YES Bank’s own proposal, in its letter dated June 6. The court has posted the next hearing on July 1.