The Chennai bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday dismissed appeals filed by Ambadi Investments (appellant) — the holding company of the Murugappa group — challenging an order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) allowing an application filed by Valli Arunachalam, the eldest daughter of former Murugappa Group executive chairman MV Murugappan, and her family to withdraw an “earlier” waiver petition.

Arunachalam has dragged AIL to tribunal under a company appeal in an alleged oppression and mismanagement case.

The bench of justice M Venugopal, member-judicial, and Kanthi Narahari, member-technical, observed that the views arrived at by the NCLT are free from any legal flaws.

AIL had moved the NCLAT with an appeal that NCLT’s order had wrongfully allowed the withdrawal of the first waiver application.

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It was argued that the second waiver application was filed for the same cause of action as the first waiver application and was barred under law.

Expressing its views, the NCLAT bench said: “Therefore, going by the tenor and spirit of the Section 424 of the Companies Act, 2013, this tribunal without any hesitation holds that the ingredients of Civil Procedure Code are inapplicable in stricto sensu of the term, in relation to the matters under the Companies Act, 2013.”

AIL had pointed out that the first waiver application was full of errors and required to be dismissed. However, NCLT had allowed Valli to withdraw the first waiver application and file a fresh waiver application, along with a new company petition.

Valli Arunachalam and her mother M V Valli Murugappan, collectively referred to as the MVM family, had made the holding company AIL as respondent No. 1 and Murugappa family members respondents No. 2-10 while moving the NCLT in March last year seeking waiver of minimum shareholding norm for maintaining the alleged oppression and mismanagement case against AIL, through a company petition.

Valli, her sister and their mother, MV Valli Murugappan, had moved of NCLT seeking waiver of the minimum 10% shareholding required to ensure the alleged oppression and mismanagement case against AIL is maintainable.

They have also sought board representation or alternatively for its 8.21% stake in AIL to be bought out.

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Valli’s arguments at the NCLAT were that the first waiver application was withdrawn entirely without any effective hearing being conducted while a fresh company petition and a fresh waiver application were filed in the whole matter.

She submitted that AIL and other Murugappa group members have avoided hearing on merits of the matter, and prayed for dismissal of the appeals.

Valli Arunachalam, karta’ of MV Murugappan Hindu Undivided Family, is the daughter of Murugappa Group’s late executive chairman, MV Murugappan, and following his death in 2017, she, her sister and their mother hold an 8.21% stake in AIL. She hit the headline in 2020 when she openly came out against the Murugappa group for denying her a seat on the board of AIL, despite having a substantial stakeholding. She even alleged gender bias in not appointing her.