B MOHANDAS Vs. A K M N CYLINDERS P LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application filed under Section 186 of the Companies Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), seeking directions of this Bench against A. K. M. N. Cylinders (P) Limited (hereinafter referred to as "the company"), to call for a general meeting of the company to transact the following business :

(2.) The brief facts of this case as stated in the application are that the applicant is one of the signatories to the memorandum of association and articles of association of the company holding 275 equity shares as revealed from the annual return for the year ended March, 1996. The applicant's shareholding amounts to more than one-tenth of the paid-up shares in the company.

(3.) ON May 2, 1996, the applicant and 21 other shareholders of the company holding 1,261 fully paid equity shares made a written requisition to the company to convene an extraordinary general meeting to transact the business specified supra. The company did not accede to the request of the applicant on the plea that the applicant and other requisitionists have no locus standi to requisition an extraordinary general meeting. Meantime, on November 7, 1996, the applicant demanded duplicate share certificates, as he had lost or misplaced the original certificates. But the company did not issue the duplicate share certificates. Thereafter, the applicant sent on January 11, 1997, a valid requisition to the company calling for an extraordinary general meeting in accordance with the provisions of the Act. But the company failed to convene any meeting in terms of the requisition dated January 11, 1997. It has, therefore, become "impracticable" for the applicant to call for an extraordinary general meeting of the company. Hence, this application.