Dish TV Investors Reach Out To I&B ministry

In a letter to I&B secretary Apurva Chandra, the association of Dish TV minority investors asked the government to clear the names of these directors, including Girish Paranjpe, Arvind Nachaya Mapangada and Haripriya Padmanabhan urgently, failing which it could explore legal action.

Mint has reviewed the contents of the letter.

“The recommended names are individuals having strong reputation and standing and we do not think there is any reason why MIB should have any issue with the names. Please note that more than 80 million minority shareholders have repeatedly voted against the current management and are dependent on your approval for further action," said the letter.

The association claimed that investors have lost over ₹20,000 crore due to the fall in Dish TV’s share price and the only way to recover the money is to take control of the company and put it for sale.

In September 2021, Yes Bank, which has a 24.78% stake, sought reconstitution of the Dish TV board citing corporate governance concerns. Among the names proposed by the bank, the satellite television provider had agreed to induct Girish Paranjpe, Arvindnachya Chandranachya and Madan Mohanlal Verma on its board.

Last year, the company had however claimed that the board is yet to receive regulatory approval for inducting these directors.

Meanwhile, Dish TV went ahead and appointed three new independent directors - Sunil Kumar Gupta, Madan Mohanlal Verma and Gaurav Gupta - on its board. These directors were however voted out at the annual general meeting held on 29 December. This is the sixth instance in the last one year where investors have forced out a board member of the company.

Currently, Dish TV’s board has only two independent directors, Shankar Aggarwal and Rashmi Aggarwal (both unrelated) but falls short of the six directors stipulated for the proper functioning of the board under the Sebi regulations.

Since the tussle began in 2021, Dish TV has tried to bring in at least four directors on its board, but the candidatures have been rejected by its shareholders led by Yes Bank.