- (1.) THESE ten connected revisions involve the consideration of identical question of law and I, therefore, propose to dispose of them by a single judgment.
(2.) IN nine of the above cases, three applicants who are a private limited company, managing director and director of the company, have been convicted under section 220 of the Companies Act for committing default in filing with the Registrar copies of the balance-sheet and the profit and loss account of the company within 42 days of holding of the annual general meeting. In the last mentioned case they have been convicted under section 162 for not complying with the provisions of section 159 which requires every company to file with the Registrar an annual return made by the company within the prescribed period. It is not denied-indeed it is admitted-that no general meeting of the company had been called and the balance-sheet and profit and loss account of the company had not been laid before it. It is also admitted that the annual returns had not been filed with the Registrar within the stated period as required by section 159. The defence put forward by the applicants was that in the years in question no general meeting had been held and, therefore, no balance- sheet and profit and loss account was filed with the Registrar of the Joint Stock Companies. It was urged that these preliminaries not having been fulfilled, it was impossible for the company or the directors to comply with the requirements of section 220. It was said that the applicants should have been convicted, it at all, not under section 220 but under section 168 for default in calling a general meeting.
(3.) IN this connection stress was laid on the language of section 220 (1) which says: "After the balance-sheet and the profit and loss account have been laid before a company at an annual general meeting as a aforesaid, there shall be filed with the Registrar at the same time a copy of the annual return referred to in section 161." It was contended that the opening words of the section require he filing of the balance-sheet and the profit and loss account with the Registrar after the same had been laid before the general meeting. No balance- sheet and profit and loss account could have been filed with the Registrar as the condition precedent had not been fulfilled. It was, therefore, sought to be contended that the conviction of the applicants under section 220 could not be sustained. ;