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Part 65, Issue # 137 - October 9, 2003
The latest issue of
Signet, the PCI's quarterly publication arrived sometime back and predictably
continued to spread falsehood. It states that the "Governing Council of the PCI
is unable to function because of operation of a stay order on the last elections
held in Mumbai issued by hon'ble Shri Ajay Goel, Senior Civil Judge, Delhi Suit
no. 654 of 2002 of Tis Hazari Courts in Madhukar Jhingan vrs Philatelic Congress
of India. It is a civil litigation. Hearing of witnesses are continuing."
The truth is that the Civil Judge Praveen Kumar of the predecessor Court gave
the order and not Ajay Goel who is the Civil Judge and not a Senior Civil Judge,
and the Court in its order has not stayed the functioning of the PCI governing
council!
The P Company that now controls the PCI does not want PCI Governing Council to
function as it is enjoying unprecedented freedom, to spend large amounts of PCI
funds, appoint pliable persons as national commissioners and jurors for
international exhibitions without having to provide answers to any uncomfortable
questions at the governing council or general body meetings.
The Court in its order did not ask PCI to stop holding meetings; the order was
for the conduct of fair elections. However, it is with nefarious designs that
the P Company has not allowed any meetings to happen since August 25, 2002.
Nevertheless all members of the P Company are in touch with each other on a
regular basis and their usual hanky panky for appointment of juries,
commissioners and management of awards continues.
At the same time, the PCI has been falsely submitting that either no
appointments have taken place or the appointments have been made "as usual on
rotation basis". The truth is that in their entire existence, there never was
any roster of Judges and Commissioners and these were and still are being doled
out as rewards for services rendered to the P Company.
It appears that the P Company has used this Court Order to help them roam free
from being responsible to members of the Governing Council and General Body, not
that they were being responsible earlier. Now even that small pretext of
half-heartedly maintaining some semblance of a public society has also
disappeared.
This is the 2nd issue of Signet that does not carry the list of the PCI
Governing Council members that was a permanent feature. Yet it mentions
Damayanti Pittie's designation as Treasurer of PCI, twice, and Suketu Jhaveri's
designation as Joint Treasurer of PCI. Only the incoming Governing Council has
the mandate to elect Treasurer and Joint Treasurer under the PCI Constitution.
As the same has never even met, how can there be any members declared as elected
to any office?
Signet also mentions Sahoo's designation as Immediate Past President, but as per
the circulated version of the PCI Constitution, he will not become the past
president until "the succeeding meeting" and no meeting has taken place
succeeding the meeting in which elections were held, over one year ago in August
2002.
The PCI is functioning under a strange dichotomy it claims to have Dilip Shah as
President of PCI while he continues to sign documents submitted to various
official agencies as Secretary General! Shah is the President when that is
convenient and Secretary General when that is convenient.
Shah on behalf of PCI has also been submitting that the PCI has not held
elections for life members on August 25, 2002; that only the tenure of a
particular PCI Governing Council member ended on the day of the election; and
that there is no governing council of PCI in existence.
Sahoo has submitted three different addresses as the registered address of the
PCI and two of these addresses are out side the National Capital Territory of
Delhi that violates the basic requirement under the law.
All law-abiding philatelists are ashamed of PCI's unlawful conduct.
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