1963 (5) TMI 43

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....the two financial years ending on October 31, 1958, and on October 31, 1959, no general meeting of the company was held (either during that year or within nine months thereafter). This amounts to a contravention of section 166 of the Companies Act, 1956, which is punishable under section 168 of that Act. Similarly it has been found as a fact that the balance-sheet and the profit and loss account of the company for the said two years were not laid before the annual general meeting as required by sub-section (1) of section 210 of that Act. This amounts to an offence punishable under sub-section (5) of that section. For the offence under section 168 of the Companies Act, the aforesaid firm and its directors (including the managing director)....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

.... board of directors have the power to call for such meeting. For failure to call for such meeting section 168 says that the company and every officer of the company who is in default shall be liable to fine. Sub-section (1) of section 210 says that at every annual general meeting of a company held in pursuance of section 166 the board of directors of the company shall lay before the company (a) the balance-sheet at the end of the period specified in sub-section (3) and (b) the profit and loss account for that period. The penal provision, viz., sub-section (5) of that section, says: "If any person being a director of a company, fails to take all reasonable steps to comply with the provisions of this section, he shall, in respect of each o....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....t is held that the act or omission which constitutes the offence under section 168 of the Companies Act is distinct from the Act or omission which constitutes the offence under section 210(5), the aforesaid provision in the General Clauses Act cannot apply, and it is immaterial as to whether the contravention of section 210 was brought about on account of the commission of the offence under section 168 by the same person. Moreover, it is a well known principle that a person should not be permitted to take advantage of his own wrong. The managing director was primarily responsible for calling a general meeting of the company, and having failed to call such a meeting and thereby contravened section 166 he cannot be permitted to take advant....