Surat: A local court on Friday refused to stay the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s vice-president election or its result, clearing the way for polling scheduled on May 24.The court was approached by chartered accountant Hardik Kakadiya, who challenged the arbitration and mediation process linked to VP election disputes within SGCCI. The chamber has around 14,000 members, and the vice-president election is seen as significant because the elected VP is traditionally elevated to the post of president the following year.In his plea, Kakadiya sought a stay on both the election and its outcome, alleging that the dispute resolution process was flawed and lacked a valid legal framework.“As a member of SGCCI, I have approached the court after the recent handling of disputes in SGCCI. The entire process was faulty and it does not follow any approved legal framework,” Kakadiya said.He said the court declined to grant an interim stay, though the matter is not closed.“The court refused to stay, but further hearing will be held on the next date. I have approached the court with support of a few other CAs as well,” he added.Kakadiya also argued that representatives of the concerned parties were not included in the panel by SGCCI during the arbitration process.Meanwhile, a separate appeal by one of the two vice-president candidates, Nitin Bharucha, seeking cancellation of rival candidate Raviraj Desai’s candidature, was rejected by an arbitration committee on Thursday. With that decision, the contest will go ahead between Bharucha and Desai.SGCCI election committee chairman Vijay Mevawala said preparations for the polling process have already been completed.“Now the election will be held since the court refused to grant a stay. We have already completed preparations to carry out the process smoothly,” Mevawala said.
