The Company Law Board (CLB) on Monday declared the selling of majority of shares of India’s one of the two premier news agencies, the United News of India (UNI), to media baron Subhash Chandra’s private investment company Media Vest as “null and void”.
In his order, chairman of the CLB S Balasubramanian also quashed appointment of four nominees of Media Vest, including Subhash Chandra himself, as additional directors on the board of UNI.
The CLB order said that the entire process of selling of about 60 pc shares of UNI to the Media Vest lacked transparency and violated provisions of Articles of Association of UNI, which enjoys a special status under section 25 of the Company Law.
The petitioners, the Kolkata-based Anand Bazar Patrika Ltd (Publisher of The Telegraph), Chennai-based Kasturi & Sons Ltd. (Publishers of The Hindu), Manipal Media Network and The Printers (Mysore) Ltd (Publishers of Deccan Herald) had challenged legal validity of selling majority shares of this trilingual News Agency to Media Vest.
