Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd. announces a leadership change

No other contemporaneous senior-management or finance departure is reported in the cited material. Lemon Tree Hotels disclosed on 24 September 2026 that Pawan Kumar Kumawat resigned as Company Secretary and Compliance Officer for personal reasons; his last working day is 23 November 2026, and he stated that there was no other material reason for the resignation. ^[1]

The disclosure is signed by Kapil Sharma, identified as Executive Director and CFO, but it does not indicate that he or another finance executive is leaving. ^[1] A separate historical item records Jyoti Verma’s appointment as Company Secretary and Compliance Officer effective 21 November 2023, but it does not establish Pawan Kumar Kumawat’s joining date or indicate another recent departure. ^[2]

Tenure comparison: the outgoing officer’s total tenure cannot be calculated from the cited disclosure because his appointment date is not reported. The five-year average tenure of Lemon Tree Hotels’ KMPs also cannot be calculated without appointment and cessation dates for the KMP population over the relevant five-year period. Therefore, no reliable comparison between Pawan Kumar Kumawat’s tenure and the KMP average can be made from the reported information.

No interim arrangement has been disclosed in the resignation filing. Lemon Tree Hotels stated that Company Secretary and Compliance Officer Pawan Kumar Kumawat’s resignation will take effect at the close of business on 23 November 2026, but the filing does not identify an interim Compliance Officer, alternate responsible officer, or temporary handover mechanism for SEBI LODR filings. ^[3]

Under Section 203(4) of the Companies Act, 2013, a vacancy in a key managerial personnel position must be filled by the Board as soon as possible and no later than six months from the date of the vacancy. Accordingly, the six-month period would run from the effective cessation date, rather than from the resignation-tender date of 24 September 2026. The company’s filing does not yet disclose the successor or the appointment timetable.

No committee position is identified in the resignation disclosure. Lemon Tree Hotels’ 24 September 2026 filing states only that Mr. Pawan Kumar Kumawat resigned as Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, with cessation effective at the close of business on 23 November 2026; it does not list any membership of the Stakeholders Relationship Committee or other internal committees. ^[1]

Accordingly:

• Committee membership: His formal position on the Stakeholders Relationship Committee, or any other committee, cannot be established from the cited disclosure.
• Reconstitution: The resignation does not, by itself, demonstrate that a board committee must be reconstituted. Reconstitution would be necessary only if the latest committee-composition report shows that Mr. Kumawat is a formal member whose replacement is required.
• Likely governance action: The company will need to appoint or designate a replacement Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, but that is distinct from changing the membership of board committees.
• Disclosure gap: The latest corporate-governance material cited here does not provide the committee-composition details needed to determine whether he held a committee seat. The company’s investor-relations page is referenced, but the actual committee roster is not included in the cited material. ^[4]