The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging the Company Law Board’s order facilitating takeover of the scam-tainted Satyam Computers by the Mahindra group and allowed the IT firm to go ahead with the process to rope in a strategic investor through a public auction. A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan dismissed the petition filed by an advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, who claimed to be a shareholder of the company.
Stating that the CLB had no powers to acquire forcefully controlling/ ownership right of the shareholder of the company without its consent, Sharma sought stay on the auction of Satyam’s share on the ground that the government-appointe d board of the company had taken a unilateral decision to sell the stake to a third party without convening any general meeting of the shareholders.
The petition also said no meeting of the shareholders of the fraud-hit company had been called so far for any kind of reference and approvals, which was illegal.
“All actions based on the CLB order of February 19, 2009, must be stayed with immediate effect,” the petition said.
According to the petitioner, a company having Rs 1,800 crore receivable in hand and fixed assets of Rs 2,038 crore with no creditors and annual services fees of foreign currency return worth Rs 6,000 crore had been sold out in the hand of the third party at a throwaway price.
However, solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium opposed the petition saying Sharma’s plea was earlier dismissed by the Delhi High Court, the Andhra Pradesh High Court and even the apex court.
He alleged that Sharma had no shares when the Satyam scam was unearthed but had later purchased its shares.
