Bollywood actress and co-owner of Punjab Kings Preity Zinta Has initiated legal proceedings against co-ordinators Mohit Burman and Ness Wadia. The dispute is focused around the validity of an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) convened on 21 April 2025 by KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited, the owner of Punjab Kings.
Preity Zinta, who holds a 23% stake in the company, has filed a civil case in a Chandigarh court demanding the declaration of EGM of April 21 as illegal and invalid. They allege that the meeting was called and operated in violation of the Companies Act, 2013 and Secretaryal Standards. According to the petition, necessary legal procedures were not followed in the meeting.
The controversy deepened when Zinta objected to the meeting through an email sent on 10 April, which was ignored. Despite his disagreement and the presence of director Karan Paul, both opposed the appointment of Munish Khanna as the new director at EGM. Despite this, with the support of Wadia, Mohit Burman carried forward the proceedings of the meeting and the appointment of Khanna.
Zinta and Paul objected to the appointment of Ness Wadia as the chairman, citing section 5.1 of the secretary standards, which clarified that if there is no pre-determined chairman, the board of directors has to choose the chairman from among them. In the meeting, votes were distributed among the four present directors for the post of Chairman, causing the validity of the proceedings even more suspicious.
In her legal petition, Preity Zinta has demanded not only to declare EGM invalid, but also to stop Munish Khanna from holding direct responsibilities. He has also pleaded for prohibition to stop the company from implementing any decision taken in the disputed meeting. Also, it has been urged in the trial that the company should be prevented from holding any board or general meeting in the absence of Preity Zinta and Karan Paul until the matter is resolved.
The court issued a notice to KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited, Mohit Burman and Ness Wadia, setting the next hearing for 27 May, where interim prohibitory orders will be debated.
Despite the legal turmoil going on outside the field, Punjab Kings’ IPL 2025 campaign has been quite successful. Under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, the team has qualified for the first playoff for the first time since 2014 and is third in the points table with 17 points in 13 matches. The franchise and its fans expect a strong end with matches against the upcoming Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians.
