Director Not Responsible After Resignation: Penalty Deleted by RD

Mr. Gangadharappa Munindra Kumar, the former Managing Director of Eaglesight Media Pvt Ltd, filed an appeal because a penalty of Rs. 50,000 was imposed on him by the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Bangalore. The adjudication order was issued by RoC because the company did not maintain its registered office during the period from 28/07/2023 to 14/03/2024. In its order, RoC levied a penalty of Rs 50,000 on the company and Rs 50,000 on Mr. Gangadharappa Munindra Kumar (Managing Director).

However, the appellant, Mr. Gangadharappa Munindra Kumar, stated that he had resigned from the company in 2014. The matter was fixed for hearing on May 19, 2025, where the authorised representative, Mr. Anandteerth Hipparagi, Company secretary, appeared on behalf of the appellant.

The AR shared proof of the resignation of the appellant in 2014 by submitting a copy of the minutes of the Board meeting, which was scheduled on March 28, 2014, where the resignation of the appellant was approved by the Board. He also submitted the statement of witness of the other director, where he had accepted that the appellant had resigned in 2014. Additionally, he also told that the company did not file DIR-12, even after the appellant had made several requests, and therefore, the appellant had filed DIR-11 in 2019.

After reviewing the submissions made by the AR of the appellant, the appeal is allowed. The appellant who made his resignation was not responsible for the company’s actions in 2023-2024. Therefore, the penalty on Mr. Kumar is cancelled. The RoC will still take action against the company and the other director, as they have not filed any appeal against the order issued by the RoC.