The question of whether, and to what extent, the board of directors of a company can rely upon the advise of the legal advisers of the company came up for consideration before a division bench of the Rajasthan High Court in Rajasthan Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd. v. Ajay Kumar Katewa (hat-tip: LiveLaw, once again). In this case, certain employees of a co-operative bank were compulsorily retired...
Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards in India
The NSE Centre for Excellence in Corporate Governance (CECG) has issued its most recent quarterly briefing titled “Gender Diversity on Boards”, which has been authored by N. Balasubramanian and Nirmal Mohanty. The executive summary is as follows: • Having women on corporate boards is a diversity measure justified on the basis of both social equity and business consideration; • Global experience...
Bombay High Court on Enforcing Articles and Board Nomination Rights
The last few years have witnessed a dispute between two families that relate to the right to nominate directors to the board of Yes Bank. Earlier this week, the Bombay High Court issued its judgment in Madhu Kapur & Ors. v. Rana Kapoor & Ors., which seeks to resolve the dispute – at least temporarily – and in the process clarifies some areas of corporate law and contract law...
Disqualification of Directors: A Dichotomy in the Companies Act, 2013
[The following post is contributed by Nivedita Shankar, who is a Senior Associate at Vinod Kothari & Company. She can be contacted at [email protected]] In case a director were to incur disqualification under section 164(2) of the Companies Act, 2013 (the “Act, 2013”), then such director shall not be eligible to be re-appointed as a director of that company or be appointed in other...
A Radical Idea for Restructuring Corporate Boards
Last week’s Schumpeter column in the Economist carries a provocative idea that involves a complete relook at the way boards of companies are structured and operated. It borrows a proposal from an article titled “Boards-R-Us: Reconceptualizing Corporate Boards” authored by two leading US corporate law academics. The column summarizes the proposal as follows: In the May edition of the Stanford Law...
Guest Post: Removal of Directors – The Necessary Numbers
[The author is an Advocate at the Bombay High Court, and can be contacted at [email protected]] Under the Companies Act, 1956 (“1956 Act”), it was settled law that a resolution proposing the removal of a director before expiry of his period of office under s. 284 of the 1956 Act would have to satisfy the numerical requirements prescribed by s. 188 of the 1956 Act (see for example, )...
Director Liability Under the New Regime
Types of Liability Being fiduciaries, directors are exposed to liabilities as a consequence of a breach of their duties. While liabilities may arise under various statutes, the focus here is on liabilities arising under company law. The first set of liabilities is statutory in nature, being specifically set forth in the Companies Act, 2013 (the 2013 Act). These could be either civil liability...
Directors’ Actions: For Whose Benefit?
It is clear that directors ought to act in good faith for the benefit of the company. Since the company is a separate legal personality, there is often the question as to who represents the interests of the company. Generally, the interests of the company are said to equate with the interests of the shareholders, while in the case of an insolvent company (or one that is in the zone of insolvency)...
Codification of Directors’ Duties: Is Common Law Excluded?
Background Hitherto, directors had negligible guidance under company law as regards their duties and liabilities. The preexisting Companies Act, 1956 (the 1956 Act) did not explicitly stipulate directors’ duties, which made it necessary to fall back on common law principles (to be articulated by courts while delivering specific decisions). The statutory uncertainty was compounded by the absence...
Companies Act, 2013: Directors’ Duties and Liabilities
The NSE Centre for Excellence in Corporate Governance (CECG) has issued its most recent quarterly briefing titled “Directors’ Duties and Liabilities in the New Era”. The executive summary is as follows: – Since directors and the board play a pivotal role in corporate governance, the law foists duties and liabilities on them; – The Companies Act, 2013 has brought about a paradigm shift...
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