Mumbai: The prolonged 18-month dispute over the control of Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) concluded on Thursday with the confirmation of chairperson Rashmi Saluja’s removal and the appointment of independent director Praveen Kumar Tripathi as interim chairman. Additionally, US businessman Digvijay ‘Danny’ Gaekwad’s failure to deposit ₹600 crore into an escrow account by the 2 pm deadline set by India’s Supreme Court solidifies the Burman family’s open offer for the New Delhi-based financial services firm.
India’s central bank informed Religare in a letter on Thursday that Saluja could no longer serve as a director, as stated in the company’s announcement to the stock exchanges. The filing indicated that Saluja would step down following the results of the 40th annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for February 7, 2025. “According to the scrutinizer’s report, 97% of the votes were cast against the resolution… Consequently, Rashmi Saluja, Executive Chairperson of the Company, ceases to be the Director of the Company,” the exchange filing noted.
The company further disclosed that during a meeting on February 11, Religare’s board appointed Tripathi as chairperson until June 30. Tripathi informed that the company’s four independent directors—Tripathi, Malay Kumar Sinha, Ranjan Dwivedi, and Preeti Madan—would rotate the chairperson role. Meanwhile, day-to-day operations will be managed by a new six-member executive committee comprising members from Religare and its subsidiaries.
“I will serve as chair for four months as a non-executive independent director, followed by other independent directors in rotation until we identify a suitable candidate for the executive director position,” Tripathi stated. According to Sebi’s listing regulations, if the chairperson is a non-executive director, at least one-third of the board must consist of independent directors. If there is no regular non-executive chairperson, at least half of the board must be independent directors.
Tripathi mentioned that the board is currently discussing the necessary statutory disclosures for the stock exchanges and is working to obtain approvals from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director of proxy advisory firm InGovern Research Services Ltd, noted that either an independent director or a committee of independent directors could serve as interim CEO until a full-time CEO or managing director is appointed by the board. One of the independent directors will also take on the role of chairman of the board during this transition.