Dish TV penalised by BSE, NSE again over board composition issues

New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Direct-to-home operator Dish TV India Limited has once again been penalised by leading stock exchanges Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) for failing to meet requirements related to the composition and quorum of its board of directors.

In a regulatory filing, the company said it received notices from both exchanges on August 29 imposing fines for non-compliance of Regulations 17(1) and 19(1)/(2) of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, for the quarter ended June 30.

This is not the first time Dish TV has faced such action. The company was also fined in 2023 and 2024 for similar violations, stemming from its prolonged boardroom tussle involving promoters and shareholders.

According to the exchanges, both BSE and NSE have imposed penalties of Rs 5.69 lakh each, which Dish TV has been directed to pay within 15 days.

The company has confirmed it will make the payment and clarified that “there is no impact on financial, operational or other activities of the company, other than the monetary fine amount payable.”

Dish TV explained that the reduction in board strength was due to shareholders not approving the appointment of directors, a matter it said was beyond the control of the board or management.

The exchanges have also asked the company to inform its promoters of the non-compliance and place the communication before the board at its next meeting.

As per Dish TV’s website, its board currently has seven members, including Executive Director-Chairperson and CEO Manoj Dobhal, four independent directors, the chief financial officer and the company secretary.

The company has been caught in a governance tussle for the past few years. Subhash Chandra’s family-led promoter group, which holds around 4 per cent in Dish TV, has been at odds with YES Bank over board reconstitution.

YES Bank, which earlier held the largest stake at 24.2 per cent, has since sold its holding to JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Private Limited.

Shareholders have on multiple occasions rejected board appointments and proposals, including the re-appointment of Jawahar Lal Goel as managing director in June 2022 and the adoption of financial statements for 2020-21 and 2021-22 at the September 2022 extraordinary general meeting.

--IANS

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