Satwant Singh Stripped By Pure Drinks Board

In a new twist to the on-going struggle for controlling Pure Drinks (New Delhi), a board meeting has stripped director Satwant Singh of all powers, company sources said yesterday.

However, Singh said he had no knowledge of the board meeting and claimed that holding of the meeting was subjudice as Ajit Singh, his elder brother, had given an undertaking to the Delhi High Court that no board meeting would be held without prior notice.

Company sources said Satwant had been divested of his financial and administrative powers at the board meet on July 1, though he would continue as a director in the board.

 

The board also revoked Satwants powers to move court on behalf of the company.

Sources in the company said too much of time was being wasted in court litigations which affected the business as the market share was coming down.

Satwant Singh has been fighting the other directors on the company board Ajit Singh and his aunt, Harjit Kaur to gain control of the company, the makers of Campa Cola and franchisees for Cadbury Schweppes drinks.

Maintaining that he was not intimated about the board meeting, Satwant Singh alleged this was a connivance between other directors and Cadbury Schweppes.

Satwant Singh asked why had the board revoked his powers again when the other directors had already divested him of his powers at an earlier board meet on March 25.

Sources said Satwant would not be able to use his powers as a director without the consent of the other two directors in the board.

They also ruled out any further change in the board by inducting any new members.

The July 1 meeting was the first board meeting Kaur attended after the civil judge, Jalandhar, ruled that she was a member of the board.

Kaur was reinducted to the board earlier this year by Ajit Singh after the two patched up their differences. Ajit Singh was in return taken on the board of the Le Meridien hotel, which is managed by Harjit Kaur.

Satwant Singh had earlier contested Kaurs induction into the board of the company alleging she was not even a shareholder of Pure Drinks (New Delhi).

He has also been fighting Cadbury Schweppes regarding limitation of Pure Drinks territory in Delhi.