Former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Ramesh Chennithala and Gulf-based business tycoon M.A. Yusuff Ali figure in the Centre’s list of disqualified directors of ‘shell companies.
The list uploaded on the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA) is seen as part of an exercise by the government to make public the lists of disqualified directors across the nation to name and shame them.
A statement by the ministry had earlier said that it had zeroed in on more than one lakh directors for disqualification as of September12 for associating with companies that had not filed financial statements or annual returns for three straight years.
From Kerala, several businessmen, leading politicians, top civil servants, and police officers have figured in the list. The list, examined by Outlook, shows that Chandy and Yusuff Ali have been disqualified due to their association with Norca-Roots, a Kerala government company which plays a key role in firming up policies and strategies for the welfare of non-resident Keralites. It filed the last balance sheet in 2013.
Chennithala figured in the list due to his post in the Congress-run newspaper in Malayalam, Veekshanam.
When contacted by Outlook, Congress MLA and the current Managing Director of Veekshanam, P.T. Thomas said that there are some "technical confusions" regarding the decision and added that Centre’s move will not affect the functioning of the newspaper.
According to a report by The Hindu, so far, the maximum number of disqualified directorships is from Delhi (74,920), followed by Mumbai (66,851), Hyderabad (41,156), Ernakulam (around 14,000), Cuttack (13,383), Ahmedabad (10,513), Gwalior (9,628), Pune (4,449), Puducherry (1,605), Himachal Pradesh (1,363), Coimbatore (1,299), Shillong (1,290) and Chhattisgarh (889).
The disqualified directors will not be eligible for re-appointment as a director in that company or for appointment in other companies for five years from the date of non-compliance.
