Sambit Patra's appointment to ONGC Board challenged in HC

New Delhi: BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra's appointment as an independent director on the board of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd was on Tuesday challenged in the Delhi High Court by an NGO.

The NGO, in its plea, also sought cancellation of the appointment of Shashi Shanker as ONGC Chairman and Managing Director. The public interest litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Energy Watchdog could not be taken up for hearing as the bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal did not assemble on Tuesday.

The matter has been fixed for hearing on November 1.

The PIL was filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, who alleged that Patra, being an active member of the ruling BJP, "cannot play the role of an Independent Director or non- official director (NOD) in ONGC as it would be a violation of the Companies Act."

The plea claimed that the selection process was also "flawed" as the BJP leader's name did not appear in the data bank of eligible persons for the post.

"State largesse cannot be passed on to a private political person in this manner," it claimed. Efforts to reach Patra for his comments on the issue did not fructify.

Opposing Shanker's appointment, the NGO has contended that he was suspended in February 2015 by the vigilance department of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for alleged "gross misconduct" in connection with a tender matter while he was Director (Technology and Field Services) in ONGC.