Delhi High Court issues notice on plea seeking appointment of administrator at Roshanara Club

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the response of the Central government and other parties on a plea seeking appointment of an administrator for overseeing the management of Roshanara Club in New Delhi [Suraj Prakash Arora vs Union of India and Ors.]..Justice Purushaindra Kaurav issued notice to all parties, including the Union of India and listed the matter for hearing on May 25, 2023..The application was filed by a former management committee member of the club in a pending writ petition filed in 2019 against the club by a former management committee member seeking details of investigation into the financial fraud allegedly committed by the management. The plea also sought transfer of the investigation to Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO)..On September 27, 2019, the Court had directed the respondents, including the Union of India and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, to file a status report on the investigations carried out by them into the affairs of the club. The report was submitted before the Court on December 22, 2022..The fresh application said that the report shows several irregularities and illegalities in the functioning of club including gross violation of the Companies Act. ."That it is to be noted that the Preliminary report shows that the directors of the Respondent No.3, company failed to act in accordance with the Articles of Association. It is submitted that the company has not even maintained proper books of account," the plea added.The plea stated that the report has brought to light the continuing malafide conduct of the management of the club despite ongoing investigation, leading to an urgent need to appoint an administrator to oversee its affairs and to prevent any further misappropriation of funds..The application was filed through advocates Prateek Kumar, Aarushi Jain & Yojit Pareek.