GOPAL JALAN AND CO Vs. CALCUTTA STOCK EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question in this appeal is, what is the meaning to be ascribed to the word "allotment' occurring in S. 75(1) of the Companies Act, 1956 That section requires a company to file a return of the allotment of its shares with the Registrar within a month of the making of the allotment. The appellant who has been accepted as a shareholder in the respondent Company for the purposes of the present proceedings complained that the Company had not filed the return required by that section, and, therefore, moved the High Court at Calcutta under S. 614 of the Act for an order requiring it to do so.

(2.) The shares with which this case is concerned had been forfeited by the Company under its articles. A reference to some of these articles is necessary before we proceed further. Articles 21 of the Articles of Association of the Company authorised its Committee to expel or suspend a member in certain events. The present is not a case involving an exercise of power under this article. Articles 22, 24 and 27 are in these terms:

(3.) The appellant's contention is that the Company from time to time forfeited various shares under these articles and it appeared from its balance sheet that seventy of such forfeited shares had been re-issued at a nominal face value of Rs. 1,000/- but no return of such re-issue of the forfeited shares had been filed by the Company. The Company in its affidavit in answer to the petition admitted these facts. It was also said that these forfeited shares had been issued for much large sums but nothing turns on that in this case.