Kerala HC ousts Vellappally Natesan, disqualifies entire SNDP board
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Kochi: In a major blow to Vellappally Natesan, the Kerala High Court on Thursday removed him as General Secretary of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP Yogam) and disqualified its entire board of about 170 office-bearers for breaching corporate regulations.
SNDP Yogam, the key social organization of Kerala's influential Ezhava community, has been led by Natesan for over 25 years.
Justice C.T. Ravi's bench acted on petitions from writer M.K. Sanu and Protection Committee chairman S. Chandrasenan, who highlighted serious irregularities.
Disqualified alongside Natesan were Vice-President Tushar Vellappally (his son), President M.N. Soman, Devaswom Secretary Arayakkandi Santhosh, and others.
The court ruled that the SNDP, registered under Ministry of Corporate Affairs provisions, failed to file annual financial statements for nearly nine years—since 2014—violating company law that disqualifies directors after three consecutive years of non-compliance. Several also lacked required Director Identification Numbers (DINs).
Citing the Registrar of Companies' report, the HC declared all current bearers ineligible and ordered a new board's appointment. A temporary board will manage operations and ensure lawful fresh elections in the interim.
Natesan acknowledged the full disqualification and said he'd respond after reviewing the judgment. The verdict delivers one of his biggest legal setbacks after decades of dominance.
(Inputs from IANS)