- (1.)This is an appeal by the State against the order of the Additional District Magistrate, Jullundur, acquitting the accused, the Akal Transport Company Private Limited, which was summoned through its Manager, Kishori Lal, in a complaint filed by the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies, Punjab, under section 303(2) of the Companies Act, 1956 .
(2.)The allegations in the complaint are that in spite of the fact that no special resolution has been adopted by the Company under section 314(1) of the Companies Act, nine Directors of the Company named in the margin were either holding office of profit under the Company, or else relations of theirs were employed in the Company, and therefore, the said Directors must be deemed to have vacated their offices as Directors with effect from the 1st of April, 1956 when the Act came into force, and no return in the prescribed form showing the changes in the Board of Dircetors had been filed in the office of the Registrar within fourteen days of the change, or in fact apparantely up to the time when the complaint was filed in June, 1957. It was further mentioned that special resolution for confirmation of the appointment of the relatives of the Directors concerned had twice been rejected by the share-holders of the Company in meetings held on the 21st of May, 1956 and the 27th of March, 1957.
(3.)Two preliminary objections were raised on behalf of the accused Company, the first being that the complaint was liable to be dismissed under section 247, Criminal Procedure Code, becuase the Registrar who was the complainant was not attending the Court in person on each hearing and secondly, because the Directors of the Company, who were in office when the Act came into force on the 1st of April, 1956, were saved by the provisions of section 652 of the Act.