The three-hour high-pitched meeting at the YB Chavan Auditorium, held under court supervision, took up the resolutions moved by the Chhabria camp. The resolutions, seeking the removal of chairman Mallya, managing director SD Lalla along with four other directors, were put to poll as per court directives. The results will be declared by the court on February 9, when the matter comes up for hearing.

Resolutions put to poll also related to the appointment of Chhabria nominees on the Herbertsons board, including BDA chairman MD Chhabria, Kishore Chhabria's uncle. Kishore Chhabria also sought to appoint a new managing director in place of Lalla.

Many shareholders came out in support of the Mallya management, and hurled abusesat the Chhabria camp for attempting to destabilise the company. They cited the financial mess at the Chhabrias-controlled companies, and said that a change in management might usher in a similar fate for Herbertsons.

Kishore Chhabria, who is also the vice-chairman of Herbertsons, speaking to newspersons after the AGM, downplayed the shareholders' furore and criticised Mallya for stage-managing the AGM. "It was a stage-managed show, and we behaved in a dignified manner," Kishore Chhabria said.

Mallya immediately retorted, "How many AGMs have you managed so far?" Sounding confident about the poll outcome, Kshore Chhabria said: "We own over 50 per cent of shares in Herbertsons, of which 48 per cent is held by my uncle MD Chabbria. I am confident of a favourable outcome in the poll."

Mallya, however, rebuffed the claims saying that he would not like to comment as the matter was sub-judice. Speaking to shareholders at the AGM, Mallya said that he appreciated their confidence in the present board ofdirectors. On the alleged financial mismanagement at the Kishore Chhabria-controlled BDA, Mallya said: "We took up the matter with the Company Law Board (CLB) once we received copies of the accounts."

The shareholders raised the issue of the alleged mismanagement and misappropriation of funds in BDA Ltd, now a subsidiary of Herbertsons headed by Chabbria. BDA was snatched away by Kishore Chhabria from elder brother Manu Chhabria after they parted ways in the early 1990s.

Herbertsons' shareholders queried about a Rs 7-crore unsecured loan to BDA, not recovered as yet. The auditors have qualified this transaction in BDA's annual report, offering no comments.

About Herbertsons' performance, Mallya said that the company had set a turnover target of Rs 250 crore in the current financial year. Till November, the company's sales turnover totalled Rs 120 crore, and Herbertsons plans to invest Rs 8 crore in the current year.

The company, Mallya said, has emerged a major whisky-maker, with a 21 per cent marketshare. "Our flagship brand Bagpiper whisky sold 55 lakh cases last year, and we are all set to transform it into the world's third-largest brand," he said.

The company has a 8 per cent market share in brandy, while its share in vodka is about 35 per cent.

Andersen Consulting has recently undertaken a business process re-engineering, and the consultants will make company-specific recommendations, he said.

According to Mallya, the company, during the current fiscal, has been focusing more on brand upgradation. "Rather than developing new brands, we are looking at opportunities available to deliver better value," Mallya said.

Mallya did not rule out negotiating with the Kishore Chhabria camp to buy out their stake, but was categorical that he would not sell his stake.