**Mumbai: Rashmi Saluja’s Struggle to Retain Board Position Intensifies Amid Takeover Battle**
Rashmi Saluja, chairperson of Religare Enterprises, is facing significant challenges in her bid to maintain her board position amid a contentious takeover struggle. On Tuesday, approximately one-third of the financial services company’s investors informed Mint that they plan to vote against Saluja’s reappointment as a director ahead of the annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for Friday, February 7. This development considerably diminishes her prospects of continuing to lead the company she played a crucial role in rescuing from near bankruptcy.
Voting commenced on Tuesday morning for three resolutions, including one regarding Saluja’s reappointment to the board. On the same day, the Delhi High Court denied Saluja any relief, allowing the shareholder meeting to proceed as planned. Last week, Saluja had filed a lawsuit against the company she leads, seeking a stay on the AGM.
“Today, after hearing detailed arguments from her lawyer, the Delhi High Court did not grant Rashmi Saluja the interim relief she sought to halt the AGM proceedings set for February 7,” stated senior Supreme Court lawyer Nalin Kohli, who represents four of the five independent directors: Praveen Tripathi, Malay Sinha, Ranjan Dwivedi, and Preeti Madan.
Kohli remarked, “While anyone seeking urgent court relief can invoke their legal rights, in this instance, particularly given the documents she submitted with her suit, expecting a stay on the AGM appears to be an overreach.” He added, “Following today’s ruling, there are no barriers preventing shareholders from exercising their corporate democratic rights to appoint or remove a director.”
In a related matter, the Delhi High Court also denied immediate relief to minority shareholder Sapna Govind Rao, who had challenged a previous ruling that rejected a stay on the Burman family’s open offer to consider a competing bid. The court instructed Sebi to evaluate US resident Digvijay ‘Danny’ Gaekwad’s proposed competing offer in accordance with legal standards. Gaekwad has proposed a price of ₹275 per share to acquire up to a 55% stake in Religare, compared to the ₹235 per share offered by the Burman family.
**Saluja’s Prospects Diminish**
Investors holding 31.85% of the company, including the Burman family, have confirmed to Mint that they have voted against Saluja’s reappointment. The Burman family, which owns 25.1% of Religare, can only vote on 21.1% of the shares they acquired prior to publicly proposing an open offer. They are unable to vote on the remaining 4% of shares acquired subsequently, effectively limiting the maximum votes on the resolution to 96% of the company’s outstanding shares.
