Thiruvananthapuram: After main the social service organisation for over three a long time, Vellappally Natesan’s period at Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) appeared to have ended abruptly Thursday after the Kerala Excessive Courtroom disqualified him and others for failing to file obligatory monetary audits for greater than three years.

Kerala HC’s Justice T.R. Ravi stated disqualification of Natesan and three others, together with his son Thushar Vellappally, was essential as a result of they violated the Firms Act by failing to file annual accounts and returns for a steady interval from FY 2006-07 to FY 2016-17.

“Respondents 4 to 7 are declared to have vacated workplace underneath Part 167(1)(a) of the Firms Act, 2013 as they’re disqualified underneath Part 164(1)(h) of the Act,” Justice Ravi acknowledged, noting that the positions Natesan and others held are additionally invalid since they didn’t have Director Identification Numbers (DIN) issued by the Kerala authorities.

The excessive court docket directed the state authorities to nominate a required variety of short-term administrators to handle the SNDP Yogam till a common assembly might be held to elect new office-bearers. 

In keeping with Part 164(2) of the Firms Act, administrators of an organization might be disqualified in the event that they fail to file monetary statements or annual returns for a steady interval of three monetary years.

Registered in 1903, the SNDP Yogam is a social service organisation based mostly on the ideas of Sree Narayana Guru for the upliftment of the state’s Ezhava neighborhood. Natesan turned its common secretary in 1995, after which the organisation steadily grew to an enterprise, managing an enormous community of academic and well being establishments. 

Portrayed because the consultant of the Ezhava neighborhood—an OBC neighborhood accounting for practically 25 % of the state’s inhabitants—the organisation and Natesan additionally play a major function in Kerala politics as a significant strain group.  Natesan, a long-standing ally of the ruling LDF, was awarded the Padma Bhushan this yr. His son Thushar is the president of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), part of the BJP-led NDA.

ThePrint reached Vellappally Natesan for remark by way of name and messages however had not obtained any response by the point of publication.

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Writ petitions and SNDP’s controversial previous

The three writ petitions filed by members of SNDP Yogam in 2024 challenged an order from the Inspector Common of Registration (IGR) from earlier that very same yr, which cleared the organisation’s administrators regardless of their failure to adjust to submitting norms.

The petitioners additionally sought the appointment of an administrator, the preparation of a voter listing, and the conduct of free and truthful elections inside a strict timeframe. The petition additionally famous that the administrators didn’t possess a sound Director Identification Quantity (DIN), a compulsory eight-digit identifier required for all office-bearers, issued by the state authorities underneath the Kerala Non-Buying and selling Firms Act, 1961.

It famous that the SNDP Yogam, initially registered in 1903, finally got here underneath the Kerala Non-Buying and selling Firms Act, however nonetheless retained the standing of a public firm. It added that although the Yogam later filed returns underneath the Firms Contemporary Begin Scheme (CFSS), 2020, leading to immunity from fines, the disqualification ought to stay.

In the meantime the defence argued that Natesan and the others held DINs earlier than the Firms Act, 2013, got here into impact, and that they filed paperwork by way of the Firms Contemporary Begin Scheme (CFSS) in 2020, which was accepted by the Inspector Common of Registration.

This isn’t the primary time the SNDP Yogam has come underneath scrutiny for alleged monetary irregularity. It has confronted a number of controversies since Vellappally took over, together with the alleged Rs 15 crore microfinance rip-off between 2013-14. It was alleged that the organisation took low-interest loans from the Kerala State Backward Courses Growth Company (KSBCDC) and re-lent them to beneficiaries at exorbitant rates of interest. 

The investigation into this case continues to be underway.

One other case concerned alleged misuse of funds at an establishment underneath the Sree Narayana Belief. It was alleged that round Rs 1.10 crore was collected for the golden jubilee celebrations of Sree Narayana Faculty in Kollam, and investigators later alleged that Rs 55 lakh from the fund was transferred to the private account of Vellappally Natesan. 

The Crime Department filed a chargesheet within the case in 2020, whereas Natesan maintained that the cash had subsequently been returned to the belief’s account. Listening to on this case was stayed by the Supreme Courtroom in 2023.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)

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