Section 149 of Companies Act, 2013 (the Act) read with the corresponding rules requires every listed company and prescribed class of companies to have a women director.   Section 172 of the Act lays down punishment for non-compliance.   Registrar of Companies have filed prosecutions against 202 non-compliant public unlisted companies. In case of 36 unlisted PSUs reference have been made to administrative Ministries for ensuring compliances in this regard.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has also mandated under SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2015 for appointment of at least one woman director on the boards of listed companies.   54 and 88 number of companies including PSUs listed on National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange respectively which had not appointed women directors as on 30.09.2017 have been levied fine for non-appointment of women directors, as per fine structure prescribed by SEBI. 

This was stated by Shri P.P. Chaudhary, Minister of State for Law & Justice / Corporate Affairs in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha .

Women director requirement: non appointment attracts statutory penalties and regulatory fines under company and listing laws. The statute imposes a mandatory women director requirement on every listed company and prescribed classes under Section 149 of the Companies Act, 2013, with penalties under Section 172; SEBI's Listing Obligations Regulations 2015 likewise require at least one woman director and prescribe fines. Enforcement includes prosecutions by Registrars of Companies, administrative referrals for PSUs, and fines levied by stock exchanges against listed companies for non appointment of women directors.