Punit Goenka, Subhash Chandra likely to move Supreme Court after no relief from SAT

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Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) order on Monday that dismissed their appeal over a ban by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on holding board positions in publicly listed companies. In a 12 June order, Sebi had barred the father-son duo from boardrooms of listed companies over allegations of fund diversion. SAT has said it saw no reason to intervene in the matter.  In the absence of a stay, legal experts said that Goenka, managing director and chief executive of ZEE, will have to step down unless an order from the Supreme Court says otherwise.

Chandra, who resigned as chairman of ZEE in November 2019, does not currently hold any key positions in the company. The SAT's decision comes at a crucial time as the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is deliberating on the merger proposal between ZEE and Sony Pictures Networks India (now Culver Max Entertainment). One of the merger's conditions is that Goenka will continue as the CEO of the combined entity.  Goenka had previously emphasized the importance of the merger and said that it should proceed regardless of his role as CEO in an interview with Mint.

“I am completely focused on that (merger)… it should go through irrespective of whether I’m the CEO or not," he had said. If the promoters fail to obtain relief from the Supreme Court, it could lead to the departure of India's first family of satellite television from the industry. Chandra, 72, is a pioneer in the Indian media sector.

He launched Zee TV, India's first private satellite channel, in 1992 in association with Hong Kong-based Richard Li’s Star TV. Star TV was later acquired by Rupert Murdoch and finally by The Walt Disney Company. Over the years, he expanded his media empire,