MULLA RESTRAINED FROM ACTING AS PRESIDENT OF TAAI ; SUNIL KUMAR IS THE ACTING PRESIDENT
Representative image
In an interim order, the Mumbai City Civil Court has restrained Iqbal Mulla from acting as President of TAAI with effect from April 12, 2014 due to his action of exercising his casting vote in the TAAI election three days after the conclusion of its AGM, which was held on December 16, 2013 in Bangalore.
In a release circulated by Rajji Rai, Former President of TAAI and one of the candidate for the post of President in TAAI’s December 2013 election, Rai stated that the Mumbai City Civil Court directed Mulla to abstain from acting as President of TAAI from April 12, 2014. “Mulla had sought further extension of his tenure, but the Mumbai City Civil Court declined him any further extension and directed him to refrain from exercising his powers and functions as the president of TAAI. As an interim arrangement, Sunil Kumar, Vice President of TAAI, has assumed charge as acting president of TAAI. As per the court direction, Mulla has also ceased to be member of managing committee of TAAI. The stay order of the court came recently on a case filed by Rajji Rai, former president of TAAI,” the release stated.
According to the release, the court termed the election of Mulla against the natural law of Justice. Giving the background, the release said : “On December 16, 2013, the election for the post of president of TAAI was held in Bangalore, along with the election of members of the Managing Committee of TAAI. On the same day, consequent to the election, the counting of votes took place. In the election for the post of President, among the three candidates, Mulla and Rai got the highest but equal number of votes, so the result of the election was a tie between Mulla and Rai. After consultation among three candidates and with their mutual consent in the presence of hundreds of other members of TAAI, it was decided unanimously by the General Body that the reelections would be held on January 27, 2014. Though the AGM had been declared closed on December 16, 2013 itself, on December 19, a full three days after the AGM was held, Harmandeep Singh Anand, the newly elected Hon. Secretary General of TAAI, sent an email to members of TAAI, informing them to their utter surprise and disbelief that Mulla had been reelected as president of TAAI. The mail stated that Mulla had exercised his casting vote in his own favour. Thus Mulla on his own reelected himself as president of TAAI.”
Subsequently, refusing to accept this brazenly illegal action of Mulla, Rai, in the larger interest of this prestigious and oldest travel trade association of the country as well as to preserve its dignity, challenged Mulla election in the Mumbai City Civil court, and on March 12, the court agreed with Rai’s assertion and was pleased to pass a stay order directing Mulla to restrain from acting as President of TAAI from April 2.
In an endeavour to cling on to his post for some time more, Mulla requested the court to extend the date of the operation of the stay order so that he can complete some unfinished work as TAAI president. Accepting his request, the court extended the date of the operation of the stay order for 10 more days up to 12th of April.
Still unwilling to demit his post, Mulla again pleaded for an extension to the court, which was summarily denied. He approached the Bombay High court, which also declined to entertain his petition for further extension. Therefore, finally his short and second term as president of TAAI ended on April 12, 2014, the release said.