Directors' parade at Dish TV as both sides stand firm

Shareholder fury has put a revolving door on the boardroom of Dish TV India Ltd, as investors throw out every new nominee proposed by the company, and the company names new independent directors who meet the same fate.

- Nehal Chaliawala & Varun Sood

Investors have ousted a record 25 directors from the Dish TV board in a little over three years, including two on Thursday, as the company continues to reject shareholder demand for a special meeting.

Every three months, Dish TV names new directors to maintain the mandatory minimum boardroom strength of three, only for the shareholders to reject their candidature.

Though there is no explicit violation of any rule, the stalemate holds the potential to hurt company operations and shareholder value.

In August, shareholders also rejected a resolution seeking their approval to raise ₹1,000 crore debt, apart from rejecting resolutions to adopt the company's financial statements multiple times in 2022.

Public shareholders, who collectively own just under 96% of the company, are unhappy with Dish TV's promoters and are seeking an extraordinary general meeting to reconstitute its board. However, promoters holding 4.04% stake have not given in to this demand for over three years now.