The Hindu : Business : Court asks Escorts Heart to maintain status quo on sale

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Saturday, Oct 01, 2005

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Court asks Escorts Heart to maintain status quo on sale

Staff Reporter

Anil Nanda seeks restoration of the Institute to its original status

Shares of the company already transferred to Fortis DDA had provided cheap land

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre Limited (EHIRCL) to maintain status quo "till further orders'' in the matter of its sale to the Ranbaxy-controlled Fortis Health Care Limited.

Taking a suit filed by Anil Nanda, younger borther of Rajan Nanda, Chairman of EHIRCL, seeking restoration of the Institute to its original status of a charitable trust on record, Justice Anil Kumar said: "The plaintiff has been prima facie able to make out a case."

Mr. Justice Kumar also issued notices to Escorts Limited, EHIRCL, Rajan Nanda, Ritu Nanda, Registrar of Firms and Societies, Chandigarh, Registrar of Companies, Jallandhar, Registrar of Societies, Delhi, and others asking them to file replies to the suit before November 22.

Appearing for Mr. Rajan Nanda, Abhishek Manu Singhvi submitted that Mr. Anil Nanda had filed the suit after a gap of five years since the conversion of the Institute from a trust into a company to "extract money.''

Submitting that since the shares of the company (EHIRCL) had already been transferred, the money had been paid to Fortis Health Care and the shares had been registered, the Court should not pass an order for maintenance of status quo in the matter.

However, Mr. Justice Kumar rejected his plea when counsel for Mr. Anil Nanda, V. P. Singh, submitted that his client had no interest in the funds of the Institute except that he wanted that the public money to be used for public welfare.

He further submitted that the entire funds of the Institute had been generated on charitable basis and that the sale was a fraud from `A to Z' to pocket the public money for individual benefits.

Mr. Singh stated that the Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre (EHIRC) was a charitable trust established by H. P. Nanda, father of Mr. Rajan Nanda and Mr. Anil Nanda, in 1981 and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had provided it two acres at the rate of Rs. 10,000 per acre. However, after the death of H. P. Nanda in 1999, Mr. Rajan Nanda and others hatched a conspiracy to grab its huge reserves and substantial assets by setting up another society with identical name in Chandigarh. EHIRC-Chandigarh was run for a few months and thereafter EHIRC-Delhi and EHIRC-Chandigarh were amalgamated and later it was converted into a company.

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