Board of Directors
A company, though a legal entity in the eyes of law, is an artificial person, existing only in contemplation of law. It has no physical existence. It has neither soul nor body of its own. As such, it cannot act in its own person. It can do so only through some human agency. The persons who are in charge of the management of the affairs of a company are termed as directors. They are collectively known as Board of Directors or the Board. The directors are the brain of a company. They occupy a pivotal position in the structure of the company. Directors take the decision regarding the management of a company collectively in their meetings known as Board Meetings or at the meetings of their committees constituted for certain specific purposes.

Minimum/Maximum Number of Directors in a Company- Section 149(1)

Section 149(1) of the Companies Act, 2013 requires that every company shall have a minimum number of 3 directors in the case of  a public company, two directors in the case of a private company, and one director in the case of a One Person Company. A company can appoint maximum 15 fifteen directors. A company may appoint more than fifteen directors after passing a special resolution in general meeting and approval of Central Government is not required. A period of one year has been provided to enable the companies to comply with this requirement.

Number of directorships- Section 165

Maximum number of directorships, including any alternate directorship a person can hold is 20. It has come with a rider that number of directorships in public companies/ private companies that are either holding or subsidiary company of a public company shall be limited to 10. Further the members of a company may restrict abovementioned limit by passing a special resolution

The Appointment of Different types of Directors as mentioned in Section 152 of Companies Act 2013are as follows

First Director

The first directors of most of the companies are named in their articles. If they are not so named in the articles of a company, then subscribers to the memorandum who are individuals shall be deemed to be the first directors of the company until the directors are duly

appointed.

In the case of a One Person Company, an individual being a member shall be deemed to be its first director until the director(s) are duly appointed by the member in accordance with the provisions of Section 152.

General provisions relating to appointment of directors

1. Except as provided in the Act, every director shall be appointed by the company in general meeting.

2. Director Identification Number is compulsory for appointment of director of a company.

3. Every person proposed to be appointed as a director shall furnish his Director Identification Number and a declaration that he is not disqualified to become a director under the Act.

4. A person appointed as a director shall on or before the appointment give his consent to hold the office of director in physical form DIR-2 i.e. Consent to act as a director of a company. Company shall file Form DIR-12 (particulars of appointment of directors and KMP along with the form DIR-2 as an attachment within 30 days of the appointment of a director, necessary fee. {Rule8}

5. Articles of the Company may provide the provisions relating to retirement of the all directors. If there is no provision in the article, then not less than two-thirds of the total number of directors of a public company shall be persons whose period of office is liable to determination by retirement by rotation and eligible to be reappointed at annual general meeting.

Further independent directors shall not be included for the computation of total number of directors. At the annual general meeting of a public company one-third of such of the directors for the time being as are liable to retire by rotation, or if their number is neither three nor a multiple of three, then, the number nearest to one-third, shall retire from office. The directors to retire by rotation at every annual general meeting shall be those who have been longest in office since their last appointment.

At the annual general meeting at which a director retires as aforesaid, the company may fill up the vacancy by appointing the retiring director or some other person thereto. If the vacancy of the retiring director is not so filled-up and the meeting has not expressly resolved not to fill the vacancy, the meeting shall stand adjourned till the same day in the next week, at the same time and place, or if that day is a national holiday, till the next succeeding day which is not a holiday, at the same time and place.

If at the adjourned meeting also, the vacancy of the retiring director is not filled up and that meeting also has not expressly resolved not to fill the vacancy, the retiring director shall be deemed to have been re-appointed at the adjourned meeting, unless—

(i) a resolution for the re-appointment of such director has been put to the meeting and lost;

(ii) the retiring director has expressed his unwillingness to be so re-appointed;

(iii) he is not qualified or is disqualified for appointment;

(iv) a resolution, whether special or ordinary, is required for his appointment or re-appointment by virtue of any provisions of this Act; or

(v) section 162 i.e. appointment of directors to be voted individually is applicable to the case.

Punishment – Section 159

If any individual or director of a company, contravenes any of the provisions of section 152/155/156 such individual or director of the company shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months or with fine which may extend to Rs. 50,000 and where the contravention is a continuing one, with a further fine which may extend to Rs. 500 for every day after the first day during which the contravention continues.

Appointment of Additional Director- Section 161 (1)

The board of directors can appoint additional directors, if such power is conferred on them by the articles of association. Such additional directors hold office only upto the date of next annual general meeting or the last date on which the annual general meeting should have been held, whichever is earlier. A person who fails to get appointed as a director in a general meeting cannot be appointed as Additional Director.

Appointment of Alternate Director- Section 161 (2)

Section 161(2) of the Act allowed the followings:

(i) The Board of Directors of a company must be authorised by its articles or by a resolution passed by the company in general meeting for appointment of alternate director.

(ii) The person in whose place the Alternate Director is being appointed should be absent for a period of not less than 3 months from India.

(iii) The person to be appointed as the Alternate Director shall be the person other than the person holding any alternate directorship for any other Director in the Company.

(iv) If it is proposed to appoint an Alternate Director to an Independent Director, it must be ensured that the proposed appointee also satisfies the criteria for Independent Directors.

(v) An alternate director shall not hold office for a period longer than that permissible to the director in whose place he has been appointed and shall vacate the office if and when the director in whose place he has been appointed returns to India.

(vi) If the term of office of the original director is determined before he so returns to India, any provision for the automatic reappointment of retiring directors in default of another appointment shall apply to the original, and not to the alternate director.

Appointment of Directors by Nomination Section 161(3)

This new sub-section now provides for appointment of Nominee Directors. It states that subject to the articles of a company, the Board may appoint any person as a director nominated by any institution in pursuance of the provisions of any law for the time being in force or of any agreement or by the Central Government or the State Government by virtue of its shareholding in a Government Company.

Appointment of Directors in causal vacancy- Section 161

If any vacancy is caused by death or resignation of a director appointed by the shareholders in General meeting, before expiry of his term, the Board of directors can appoint a director to fill up such vacancy. The appointed director shall hold office only up to the term of the director in whose place he is appointed.

Appointment of directors to be voted individually-

Section 162(1)

A single resolution shall not be moved for the appointment of two or more persons as directors of the company unless a proposal to move such a motion has first been agreed to at the meeting without any vote being cast against it.

A resolution moved in contravention of aforesaid provision shall be void, whether or not any objection was taken when it was moved. A motion for approving a person for appointment, or for nominating a person for appointment as a director, shall be treated as a motion for his appointment.

Proportional representation for appointment of directors- Section 163

The articles of a company may provide for the appointment of not less than two-thirds of the total number of the directors of a company in accordance with the principle of proportional representation, whether by the single transferable vote or by a system of cumulative voting or otherwise and such appointments may be made once in every three years and casual vacancies of such directors shall be filled as provided in sub-section (4) of section 161.

Right of persons New Person to stand for directorship- Section 160

A person who is not a retiring director shall be eligible for appointment to the office of a director at any general meeting, if he, or some member intending to propose him as a director, has, not less than fourteen days before the meeting, left at the registered office of the company, a notice in writing under his hand signifying his candidature as a director or, as the case may be, the intention of such member to propose him as a candidate for that office, along with the

deposit of one lakh rupees or such higher amount as may be prescribed which shall be refunded to such person or, as the case may be, to the member, if the person proposed gets elected as a director or gets more than 25% of total valid votes cast either on show of hands or on poll on such resolution.

Notice of candidature of a person for directorship- Section 160(2) and Rule 13

The company shall inform its members of the candidature of a person for the office of a director or the intention of a member to propose such person as a candidate for that office, at least seven days before the general meeting by serving individual notices to members through e-mail and where no e-mail address is available then in writing and by placing notice of such candidature or intention on the website of the company, if any.

If the company advertises such candidature/intention, not less than 7 days before the meeting at least once in a vernacular newspaper in the principal vernacular language of the registered office’s district and at least once in English language in an English newspaper circulating in that district in which the registered office of the company is situated, then it shall not be required to serve individual notices upon the members as aforesaid.