Court clears Nuwara Eliya Golf Club and its committee of any misdeeds

The Nuwara Eliya District Court cleared the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (NEGC) and its committee members of any misdeeds when they declined to give the stay order sought by a certain section of its members to prevent the committee from holding a Special General Meeting (SGM).

The plaintiff had also brought another action to prevent the Annual General Meeting (AGM) from being held.

Subsequently the plaintiff had withdrawn the case they had brought against the committee members that they had no authority for the construction of 12 additional rooms amounting to Rs. 48 million and a sewerage plant costing around Rs. 7 million without obtaining the necessary approval from the members at an SGM.

NEGC Vice President Trevin Fernandopulle told Daily FT, “In the 2018 AGM these two items were on the agenda and no one objected to it. We did a very comprehensive presentation as to why the construction was necessary to the club and how it would generate the necessary revenue and the importance of a sewerage plant. We thought we had the approval at that time because we put it to the house, had a presentation and we went on with it. What they said was that we didn’t have the approval to go ahead with the construction because according to the club rules it says that an SGM must be held for expenses spent.

“We thought an AGM would suffice as our legal counsel said an AGM would supersede the SGM. Based on the legal counsel’s approval we went ahead and started to build the extension for the rooms and sewerage plant. Then when we held the AGM in 2020 and presented the 2019 accounts these members got up and objected that we could not go ahead with the construction and that we must have an SGM to approve the expenditure. We adjourned the AGM and called for an SGM, but in between these people went to Court and tried to obtain a stay order for the SGM.

“The Judge basically declined to give the stay order. As we had an overwhelming majority at the SGM where they gave us approval they went ahead and also withdrew the Court case.”

The AGM is scheduled to be held on 22 October, but Fernandopulle said because of the current situation in the country with regard to the CORONA-19 they may have to postpone it to another date.