The proponents of a board spill have had their first defeat in the battle for Baraka Energy and Resources, after the Takeovers Panel declined to hear the application.

GTT Ventures wanted the Panel to rule on, among other things, an allegation that shareholders with a combined holding of 5.96 per cent had formed an association which had not been disclosed.

The Panel said GTT hadn’t provided enough evidence for them to look into the matter, and hadn’t given it enough time given a general meeting to roll the board is taking place tomorrow.

“The Panel concluded there was no reasonable prospect that it would make a declaration of unacceptable circumstances,” it said in a statement.

GTT is trying to remove Baraka’s (ASX:BKP) three directors Colin Vost, Justin Vost and Ray Chang, and replace them with Jason Brewer, Christopher Zielinski and Patrick Glovac.

It had been seeking interim orders ahead of the Friday meeting.

It helped raised $600,000 for the company in April.

GTT is accusing the Vosts in particular of paying themselves too much and tying the company up in non-performing loans to other businesses they sit on the boards of.

Colin Vost rold Stockhead earlier in the week that he didn’t want to defend the claims point by point and the matter was better resolved through private discussions rather than publicly.

He says GTT is being opportunistic, as Baraka have just closed the book on years of regulatory and legal problems.

Mr Vost told Stockhead the Takeovers Panel decision changes nothing and they were never worried about it in the first place: “It is irrelevant to the overall situation.

GTT have been contacted for comment.

The extraordinary general meeting takes place on Friday in Perth.