Delhi HC rejects Rashmi Saluja's plea to halt Religare Enterprises AGM

She had sought a permanent injunction to prevent her removal and to stop the resolution from being voted on at the AGM, scheduled for physical voting on Friday

A division bench of the Delhi High Court (HC) on Thursday declined to stall the potential ouster of Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) Chairperson Rashmi Saluja at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) slated for Friday (February 7).

 

The division bench of Justices Rekha Palli and Saurabh Banerjee said that they found “no infirmity in the order of the single judge”, and dismissed Saluja’s appeal.

 

She had sought permanent injunctions to prevent her removal and stop the resolution from being voted on at the AGM.

 

Earlier on February 4, a single judge of the HC had dismissed her plea, following which she moved the division bench.

 

 

Saluja, who is set to retire by rotation, argued that her appointment was for a fixed term of five years, ending 2028.

 

The single judge order noted that while she was appointed in 2023 for a five-year term, the board meeting and AGM minutes explicitly stipulated retirement by rotation.

 

“This clearly indicates that the understanding of the plaintiff that she is liable to retire is not something that was introduced for the first time in 2025...It is evident that the plaintiff has failed to establish a prima facie case in her favour," Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav had said in his order.

 

Saluja’s plea was opposed by four independent directors of the company and the Burman family, the largest shareholder in REL, which launched an open offer to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake. Saluja has offered herself for reappointment, and the outcome of the voting will be known at the AGM.

 

The AGM, originally scheduled for December, was delayed due to legal proceedings before the Madhya Pradesh HC.