New Rules for Passing of the Resolution through Postal Ballot
- Wednesday, June 15, 2011, 7:23
- Company Law
- Articles, Featured
In 2001, to give effect to the provisions of Section 192A of the Companies Act, 1956 (the Act), the Central Government in exercise of the powers issued rules for passing resolution by Postal Ballot called the Companies (Passing of Resolution by Postal Ballot) Rules, 2001 (Principal Rules).
Even though the Principal Rules defined the term Postal Ballot to include voting by shareholders by postal or electronic mode, the appropriate mechanism for electronic voting was not prescribed therein.
The Central Government has vide Notification dated 30 May 2011 issued new set of rules for passing of resolution by Postal Ballot called, the Companies (Passing of Resolution by Postal Ballot) Rules, 2011 (New Rules), which will supersede the Principal Rules.
Key changes/additions incorporated in the New Rules are as under:
| Particulars | New Rules | Principal Rules |
| Definition of Voting by Electronic Mode | A process for recording votes by the members using a computer based machine to display an electronic ballot and to record the vote and also the number of votes polled in favour or against such that the entire voting gets registered and counted in an electronic registry in a centralized server. | Not defined |
| Modes of Sending Notice | (i) Under Registered Post Acknowledgement Due; or
(ii) Through any other secured mode of posting provided by Department of Post; or (iii) Through electronic mail. |
(i) Under Registered Post acknowledgement Due; or
(ii) Under Certificate of Posting. |
| Notice should mention the following |
|
Not provided. |
| Postal Ballot Advertisement to contain the following |
|
Not provided. |
Agency means an agency approved by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) appointed for providing and supervising electronic platform for voting. MCA has presently authorised only National Security Depository Ltd and Central Depository Services (India) Ltd as such agencies subject to the condition that they obtain a certificate from Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate, Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communication and IT, Government of India, New Delhi.
Related posts:
- The Companies (Passing of the resolution by Postal Ballot) Rules, 2011
- Approval of Ministry of Corporate Affairs for appointment of agency for providing electronic platform for electronic voting under the Companies Act, 1956
- Green Initiatives in the Corporate Governance- Clarification
- CDSL launched e-Voting System for Corporates
- NSDL, CDSL authorised to facilitate electronic voting for cos