Retired Justice Ramesh Lahoti is slated to lead a new committee mediating payments for Speak Asia panelists, following a Supreme Court hearing today. The committee's formation, stemming from a civil proceeding led by Solomon James, aims to address unpaid claims before the next hearing on November 21. Panelists initiated the writ petition, demanding answers to the fundamental question: "Where is our money, and why haven't we been paid?"
This newly proposed committee, however, faces significant hurdles that render its function largely ineffective. The primary barrier involves banking channels. No major Indian bank will facilitate transactions for Speak Asia while the company remains under active criminal investigations and ongoing court cases. Transferring funds from a company facing such scrutiny presents an unacceptable liability for financial institutions. The mere establishment of a mediation committee, regardless of its leadership, does not alter this fundamental banking reluctance to engage with an entity under criminal investigation.
A second, equally insurmountable challenge lies within the committee's operational design. Speak Asia reportedly counts 1.2 million members with outstanding financial claims. The process for each of these individuals to formally represent their case before the committee presents a logistical nightmare, making timely resolution virtually impossible.
Lawyer Aneesh Sharma, involved in today's writ, detailed the committee's proposed mechanics in a public video. Once the committee's composition is finalized, panelists will be able to make representations. This might involve pleading themselves as a party in the ongoing case or submitting a formal application. But if each of the 1.2 million members were to spend just two minutes presenting their individual claims, working non-stop around the clock, the committee would require 4.5 years to hear every claimant. Extending that time to five minutes per member pushes the processing period to nearly 11.5 years, a duration contingent on constant, uninterrupted operation without any administrative breaks or processing time.
Even if the committee opts to accept written submissions instead of individual hearings, the sheer volume of documentation would still demand an immense allocation of human resources. Sifting through and thoroughly processing 1.2 million individual requests, each detailing specific financial claims, would require an impractical number of man-hours and an extensive administrative apparatus not currently apparent.
The Lahoti committee's stated purpose is mediation and resolution for Speak Asia panelists. Yet, without a clear mechanism for banks to process payments or a practical, timely way to address millions of individual claims, its ability to deliver tangible financial recovery for the affected members appears severely constrained.