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Family Feud at Biological E. Ltd.
EXCERPTS
THINGS GET BITTER
With the sudden demise of Datla on March 21, 2013, the feud between the family members over the position of Managing Director came out into the open. Datla had held 81% share of the BEL before his death and nobody in his family had been inducted into the Board of Directors other than Renuka, G.V. Rao (Rao), and Datla himself. Datla had probably not expected to die so soon. His death fueled speculations about who would become the next Managing Director of BEL. Renuka was hopeful that she would get the position after Datla but arguments soon surfaced between Renuka and her daughters over the control and management of the company. |
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THE WAR OF WORDS
After Mahima became the Managing Director of the company, she increased Renuka’s remuneration with the Board’s consent, Renuka, however, said at a board meeting on August 22, 2013, that she, Renuka, had opposed the increase in remuneration and expressed her dissent through a letter. At the meeting, copies of the letter written by Renuka to the Board and Managing Director were circulated for examination and discussion...
RENUKA COMPLAINS TO THE COMPANY LAW BOARD
Renuka said that she could not reconcile with the fact that her daughters had tried to take control of the whole company. Therefore, she filed a case against her daughters and Rao before the Company Law Board in April 2013. She argued that her father had established BEL and he had held the majority of the shares. Renuka further said that the appointment of her daughters, Mahima, Indira and Purnima, to the Board of Directors in BEL was completely invalid and illegal...
TAKING THE ISSUE TO THE COURT
Subsequently, Renuka filed another case in 2014 in the City Civil Court, Hyderabad, claiming some declaratory reliefs based on the Will by Datla in her favor. Also, she withdrew the previous Company Petition pending before the CLB of 2013. She stated that the scope of the earlier Petition was limited and would not permit her to redress all her grievances or seek appropriate relief...
THE AFTERMATH
Neither Renuka nor her daughters were satisfied with the order of the High Court directing them to work together. Therefore, Renuka and her daughters filed a plea with the Supreme Court in May 2015. The Supreme Court formed a mediating bench of two former judges of the court, Justice P V Reddy and Justice R V Raveendran, who would act as mediators between Renuka and the daughters...
EXHIBITS
Exhibit I : The Shareholdings Pattern of BEL in April 2013
Exhibit II : Letter Written by Renuka on April, 15, 2013, Addressing the BEL Family
Exhibit III : Change in Board Members of BEL– 2012, 2013, 2015
