Delhi Gymkhana Club members vote against changes in accounting policy at AGM

New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) The Delhi Gymkhana Club members have voted against the changes in the accounting policy of the club at the recently-held annual general meeting (AGM). The club members are fighting a tough battle with the Centre's appointed Administrator, who is currently managing the affairs of the club.

Certain members of the club, on the condition of anonymity, said that over 90 per cent of members voted against the proposed changes in the accounting policy. Several members, including members of the dissolved general committee (GC), have opposed the change in accounting policy, which has been followed for a number of decades, duly approved by all previous auditors as well as present auditors of the last six years.

A member of the club said the new management intends to transfer an imaginary loss of Rs 127.78 crore from 2009-10 to 2019-20 from free reserves, which will not be available to future general committee (GC) to meet expenses.

Another member added that if the accounts are approved, then club members will end up paying 5 times increase in monthly subscription and a many fold increase in food and beverage prices, apart from increase in charges for swimming, squash, tennis etc.

A communication sent to members of the club said: "The net effect of this will be that the club's profit and loss account will show a loss and the Club could then be presented as a loss-making entity fit for takeover by the Government. Further it would result in wrongly indicting all the ex-Presidents and GC for alleged fraud and grave financial irregularities, whereas the club has never committed any irregularity by adoption of this accounting procedure over the last many decades."

A member said the Administrator has no right to change accounting procedures as he has been tasked to only manage the club and not alter its policies. "We, therefore, request you to kindly oppose the resolution in the AGM which has been put up for passing the Accounts and Director's Report," added the communication.

According to a member, the next steps should be for Administrator, Om Pathak, a former UP cadre IAS officer, to correct the accounts and present them to the members again at an adjourned AGM.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, on February 15 this year, dissolved the club's GC and directed the Centre to appoint an Administrator to manage its affairs, after the Ministry of Corporate Affairs moved the tribunal alleging corruption, mismanagement, and nepotism in the club.

On September 30, in a major relief for the former general committee of the club, the Supreme Court, while hearing the appeals filed against the NCLAT order, remanded the matter back to the National Company Law Tribunal and asked it to settle it within four months.