Sorabjee's 2nd term as IIC President comes into question

Former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee's election as the President of the prestigious India International Centre (IIC) has come into question after eminent senior members questioned the validity of the poll process to grant him another term, during the annual general body meeting held on Friday.

Sorabjee was re-elected IIC President for five years, starting January 1, 2017. The IIC's board of directors had unanimously elected him for a second consecutive term.

Sorabjee, who was presiding over the meeting, was compelled to adjourn the proceedings when it became evident that the members were incensed due to the apparent deviation from the procedure to elect the President.

Those who expressed their reservation included Sanjaya Baru, Pawan Verma, Deepak Nayyar, Commodore Uday Bhaskar, Sumit Chakravarty, Sagari Chabra, Vishwabandhu Gupta, SP Narang, Vinod Sharma and Om Thanvi.

Chakravarty brought to light that unless a fifth trustee was elected, election for President could not be held. His view was echoed by some others, who termed Sorabjee's election as null and void in the wake of the procedural lapse.

Sorabjee, however, said the decision rested with the board and that he would like to reserve his comments as of now.