In an order dated October 5, Justice Pinaki Ghosh of the Calcutta high court asked the board members to take necessary decisions for running the exchange. However, he added that the decisions would fall flat if the verdict went against the newly elected board.

The new board of the East India Jute & Hessian Exchange, headed by its new president Bhag Chand Jain, has not been able to take charge of the futures trading body as a member of the exchange filed a petition questioning the total election procedure. A senior member of the exchange told The Financial Express that a verdict is unlikely to come within the next few months.

"We have not yet received the first hearing date. Once we get that the process will start and if things move at this pace we do not feel the verdict will come within a year," themember said. The case will be heard by Justice Ghosh.

The members of the hessian exchange voted on September 21 to choose 17 board members, and the results were announced the same day.

As many as 60 of the 520 members were not allowed to vote as they had not paid their annual membership fees for 1998-99 by April 1 and even by the extended date of September 14. Six members paid their fees on September 16 and wanted to vote, but were disallowed by the election committee. One Sumer Mall Nahata challenged the elections in the court. The hessian exchange held its annual general meeting on September 22 and it was followed by the first meeting of the newly elected board members to choose a president and a vice-president. Bhag Chand Jain of Kakinada jute mill was elected president defeating the outgoing president, Arun Kumar Seth, who had held the post for the last three years. Pradeep Seth was elected vice-president.