'Shocked, disturbed', Delhi Gymkhana Club members criticise Centre's nominated committee GC resolution

The Delhi Gymkhana Club members have written to the Centres nominate general committee that they were shocked and taken aback by the general committee (GC) resolution passed on July 1. The letter has also been marked to the Minister of Corporate Affairs, the Minister of State, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), and the secretary MCA.

In an email communication sent to the chairman and members of the nominated general committee, the club members said: "We, as members of the last elected General Committee, were taken aback and disturbed when we received a copy of the GC Resolution dated 1 July 2022".

Major Atul Dev, a member of over 50 years standing, said: "The nominated general committee must not forget that they are addressing and associating with members of the club who are all persons of some standing in their own right and not their subordinates. They have even addressed mail to members and staff jointly."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior member of the erstwhile GC of the club said: "The resolution passed by the Centre's nominated members committee amounts to an insult to the members..."

The email communication, which has been signed by nine members of the last elected GC of the club, further added: "The resolutions now adopted and circulated have caused considerable disquiet and shock within the club community. Fifty per cent of the shareholders (Permanent Members), comprise retired and serving senior bureaucrats and defence officers and the balance fifty per cent are respected members of civil society."

The members said they are happy to discuss ways to clarify and even resolve the membership related issues raised in National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order, and also pointed at a list of irregularities and acts of omission and commission by the management since it was taken over by the government nominated committee.

"These include ignoring Company Laws and Rules and the Articles of Association of Delhi Gymkhana Club including its Bye-Laws," added the email.

The members said they had already brought some of these decisions to the notice of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, but have received no response either from the authorities or the management conducting affairs of the Delhi Gymkhana Club.

Earlier, the Centre had moved the NCLT seeking civil and criminal immunity for all six directors, appointed by it in April to manage the affairs of the Delhi Gymkhana Club.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, in an application, said: "The newly appointed directors are under the threat of being exposed to past liabilities incurred by the Respondent No. I Company (DGC) owing to actions taken/ not taken by the erstwhile management."

The six directors are lawyer and BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli; former secretary government of India Malay Kumar Sinha; BJP member Kuljeet Singh Chahal; former secretary of the ministry of electronics and information technology Ajay Sawhney; former director general of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Kumar Rajesh Chandra; and former Indian Revenue Officer Ashish Verma.