Sony-Zee merger: Major shareholders to decide Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka’s reappointment, says Ranina

HP Ranina, Lawyer, Supreme Court says, Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka’s fate will be decided by the major shareholders, who will put forward their point of view. If Sony feels that Punit is a good person, maybe they will present their case again and maybe his name will be cleared in course of time. It is very difficult to say how that will pan out but it will depend on the major shareholders. If they support the two gentlemen, then they can once again be reappointed unless it can be shown that there were very serious charges against them and not mere allegations and the charges have been proved.

The NCLT has now approved the Zee-Sony merger and there have been absolutely no objections here.
This is excellent news that this merger will go through because whatever may be the other issues, can be sorted out in course of time. Whether Punit Goenka is fit to be the managing director or not is a separate issue. Any competent person can become a managing director, and therefore the merger has to go through. You cannot hold up a merger and sacrifice the interests of the stakeholders and shareholders.

Is this now a final green signal or do you think there could be some more stumbling blocks after this?
I do not think there could be stumbling blocks because who will take objection to this? I do not think there will be any further delays in this matter. I am sure the merger process will all go on stream. I do not see any difficulty now at all.

What is your own expectation of the timeline of this? Any idea when that merger can be through? Is it just going to be three to six months from here on or could it be longer?
I think three to four months maximum. I do not think there should be any difficulty in proceeding with the process. Whatever is the statutory requirement will be complied with and all the merger documents, everything will be put in place. Once that happens, I think the merger will simply go through.

I guess what remains in the pipeline would be SEBI's final order against Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka. What could we expect there because we understand that the SEBI chairperson herself may hear the replies of Chandra and Goenka in the case?
Well, that is an issue on which is very difficult to comment on. I suppose each one will defend himself. The major shareholders will also put forward their point of view. If Sony feels that Punit is a good person, maybe they will present their case again and maybe his name will be cleared in course of time. So it is very difficult to say how that will pan out but it will depend on the major shareholders.

If they support the two gentlemen, then they can once again be reappointed unless it can be shown that there were very serious charges against them and not mere allegations where the charges have been proved.