Two Coal India independent directors quit ahead of AGM

With the spectre of United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-appointees being sacked by the Narendra Modi-led government growing, two independent directors on the Board of Coal India Limited (CIL) resigned on Tuesday a day ahead of the annual general meeting (AGM).

Former coal secretaries Alok Perti and C Balakrishnan quit ahead of AGM, where CIL would have asked for ratification of their appointments for a three-year term, according to news agency PTI. The directors did not want to face humiliation and resigned from the post, a source said. Perti was appointed on October 31, 2013, and Balakrishnan on December 19 last year.

As per the Companies Act, all appointments of directors to a company Board have to be ratified by its shareholders. CIL had moved a resolution for seeking ratification of their appointments and but with new government communicating to the UPA-appointees that their services are no longer required, the two quit.

"Alok Perti and C Balakrishnan, who were appointed as non-official, parttime directors on the Board of CIL by the ministry of coal for a period of three years... Have tendered their resignation wef September 08, 2014, and September 09, 2014, respectively," the public sector behemoth said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Shri Prakash had quit the CIL Board on September 3 even though the company had moved a resolution seeking confirmation of his appointment for three years. Prakash was appointed on February 6.

Earlier, the new government had sacked four independent directors of Indian Oil Corporation and nine other such appointees on Boards of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, MRPL and HPCL are being sought to be removed.