Delhi HC rejects Natasha Oberoi's plea to stay board resolution
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea of Oberoi Hotels managing director Natasha Oberoi, seeking to stay a board resolution that granted Tejaswi Dixit the authority to deal with legal matters related to the estate of PRS Oberoi, the late patriarch of the Oberoi Group.
Dixit is company secretary at EIH Associated Hotels, which is part of the Oberoi Group. PRS Oberoi's daughter, Natasha, wanted various issues including representation by Dixit to be decided through arbitration. She claimed that Dixit, "a stranger", had been unlawfully delegated the authority by her brother and Oberoi Group CEO Vikramajit Singh Oberoi and cousin and executive chairman Arjun Singh Oberoi to "orchestrate undue gains by hijacking the representation of the company through bypassing the board of directors and abdicating their fiduciary responsibilities".
She had sought a stay on Oberoi Hotels' board resolution passed on June 6, 2025 and also directions to restrain Vikramjit and Arjun, as well as group chief operating officer Rajaraman Shankar, from acting upon or giving effect to their consent to the resolution.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav rejected her stand, holding that she was not party to the arbitration agreement.
The judge said Oberoi Hotels' articles of association (AoAs), relied upon by Natasha to invoke arbitration, did not constitute a valid arbitration agreement in law and could not form the basis for granting any interim relief.
While examining Clause 30A of the articles, which provided that disputes shall, in the first instance, be referred to the joint arbitration of the company's auditors and lawyers, the court said the AoAs were not signed by Natasha, "let alone the other parties".
According to Natasha, the board's resolution had unlawfully bypassed the AoAs of Oberoi Hotels and delegated the legal matters to Dixit, who had no connection with the company, thereby compromising its governance, legal autonomy and statutory compliance. "The omnibus authority granted to Dixit sans any checks and balances has been designed to enable him to wield great powers with no responsibility," she submitted.
Last year, Anastasia Oberoi, PRS Oberoi's daughter by Mirjana Jojic, moved HC, alleging that stepbrother Vikramajit, stepsister Natasha and cousin Arjun were attempting to obstruct the execution of her father's will.
At the centre of the dispute are two wills said to have been drawn up by PRS Oberoi.
Dixit is company secretary at EIH Associated Hotels, which is part of the Oberoi Group. PRS Oberoi's daughter, Natasha, wanted various issues including representation by Dixit to be decided through arbitration. She claimed that Dixit, "a stranger", had been unlawfully delegated the authority by her brother and Oberoi Group CEO Vikramajit Singh Oberoi and cousin and executive chairman Arjun Singh Oberoi to "orchestrate undue gains by hijacking the representation of the company through bypassing the board of directors and abdicating their fiduciary responsibilities".
She had sought a stay on Oberoi Hotels' board resolution passed on June 6, 2025 and also directions to restrain Vikramjit and Arjun, as well as group chief operating officer Rajaraman Shankar, from acting upon or giving effect to their consent to the resolution.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav rejected her stand, holding that she was not party to the arbitration agreement.
The judge said Oberoi Hotels' articles of association (AoAs), relied upon by Natasha to invoke arbitration, did not constitute a valid arbitration agreement in law and could not form the basis for granting any interim relief.
While examining Clause 30A of the articles, which provided that disputes shall, in the first instance, be referred to the joint arbitration of the company's auditors and lawyers, the court said the AoAs were not signed by Natasha, "let alone the other parties".
According to Natasha, the board's resolution had unlawfully bypassed the AoAs of Oberoi Hotels and delegated the legal matters to Dixit, who had no connection with the company, thereby compromising its governance, legal autonomy and statutory compliance. "The omnibus authority granted to Dixit sans any checks and balances has been designed to enable him to wield great powers with no responsibility," she submitted.
Last year, Anastasia Oberoi, PRS Oberoi's daughter by Mirjana Jojic, moved HC, alleging that stepbrother Vikramajit, stepsister Natasha and cousin Arjun were attempting to obstruct the execution of her father's will.
At the centre of the dispute are two wills said to have been drawn up by PRS Oberoi.
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