Calcutta Club will have a brand new team at the helm with as many as 10 new faces, including the incoming president, making it to the top decision-making body of the elite social institution for 2020-21.
Scientist Partha Ghose, who has never been a managing committee member, has become the new president of the club, capping months of efforts by a section of influential members and past presidents to usher in radical change in the club management.
The elections that were held at the end of the annual general meeting on Wednesday saw the exit of seven members of the management committee. Moreover, the senior-most member of the outgoing committee, who usually becomes the president, was also voted out.
About 1,600 out of the 3,000 eligible voting members of the club exercised their franchise.
The AGM was held amid a controversy that flared over accusations of financial irregularities, which prompted the Union ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) to write to the club seeking its response to whistleblower complaints of financial impropriety. Members of the club have already voted for a forensic audit of the books of accounts.
Speaking to The Telegraph shortly after the election results were announced late in the afternoon, Ghose laid out his priorities for the year: “The Club needed a radical change, and the members have voted for that. It is a completely new committee. We will try to restore the prestige and the traditions of the Club, bringing in transparent, honest and efficient management and also restore the bonhomie which is what the Club is for.”
The controversy
In a letter on December 14, the MCA had sought a detailed response from the club within 10 days based on a set of accusations that were levelled by a member of the club.
The Calcutta Club Ltd is governed by the rules and regulations of the Companies Act 2013 as it is classified as a company under Section 8, which deals with non-profit entities.
The grievances listed in the MCA’s letter flow from a report of veteran member Nirupam Halder, a member of the internal audit committee.
Halder had raised questions about the cost overrun in the renovation of the Men’s Bar, investment of provident fund money amounting Rs 86 lakh in troubled companies such as Dewan Housing Finance Ltd, Reliance Capital Ltd, Reliance Home Finance Ltd and IL&FS Ltd, a Rs 1-crore investment in Yes Bank's Tier-1 bonds as well as expenditure of Rs 24.65 lakh on building a solar panel.
The report gained support from a section of influential club members, including a few senior members who forced an extraordinary general meeting on December 12 — the first time in the history of the club that such a meeting was convened.
Three resolutions were passed at the EGM with an overwhelming majority, including the decision to carry out a forensic audit of accounts.
There are 13 members of the management committee of the Calcutta Club, which includes the president and the immediate ex-president. The 11 other members are chosen through a poll during the AGM, which took place on Wednesday. A separate poll takes place simultaneously for the post of president.
Nine members of the outgoing committee had denied any wrongdoings mentioned in the report.
Sandip Ghose, who as a member and whistleblower wrote to the MCA, said on Thursday: “Heritage institutions like Calcutta Club are run as much by tradition as by rules. Not only was the ‘culture’ diluted, but people also forgot that being a company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, some minimum standards of governance has to be maintained and decisions cannot be bulldozed by the majority.”
Club president Ghose, who was also chairman of Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, said the committee would appoint a reputable firm to carry out the forensic audit. “We will take action based on the findings and inform the MCA. A preliminary report has already been sent,” Ghose said.
