HistoryofCompanyLawinIndia
TheearliestbusinessassociationsinEnglandwerethe‘MerchantGuilds’.Someofthe
merchantguildswerecalledregulatedcompanies.ARoyalCharterestablishedthe
EastIndiaCompanyintheyear1600.InEnglandtheJointStockCompaniesActwas
passedforthefirsttimein1844.Underthisact,aprovisionwasmadeforthe
registrationofcompanies.
Intheyear1850,takingtheEnglishJointStockCompaniesAct1844asabase,a
provisionwasmadeforregistrationofjointstockcompaniesinIndia.Afterthisthe
JointStockCompaniesActwaspassedinIndiaintheyear1857.UnderthisActthe
conceptoflimitedliability
1
wasintroducedforthefirsttimeinIndia.Thereafterthe
CompaniesActwaspassedintheyear1866.TheActconsolidatedandamendedthe
law relatingtoincorporation,regulationandwinding-upoftradingcompaniesand
otherassociations.
TheActwaslaterreplacedbyTheIndianCompaniesAct1913.TheIndiancompanies
ActwasbasedontheEnglishActs,thereforeincasespertainingtoCompanyLaw,the
IndianCourtscloselyfollowedthedecisionsoftheEnglishcourts.
However,afterindependence,theGovernmentappointedaCommitteeunderthe
chairmanshipofShriH.C.Bhabaintheyear1950torevisetheIndianCompaniesAct
of1913.Thecommittee submitted itsreportin the year1952.Based on the
recommendationofthecommitteeandtheprovisionsoftheEnglishCompaniesAct
1948,theCompaniesAct1956wasintroducedintheparliament.
TheCompaniesAct1956cameintoforceon1
st
April,1956.TheCompaniesActhas
beenamendedfrom timetotime.Thelatestamendmentsweremadein2006.To
overhaultheCompanyLawinacomprehensiveway,theCompaniesAct(Amendment)
Bill2009wasintroducedintheparliamentinAugust2009.Someofthemajor
amendmentsmadeintheCompaniesActintheyear2002aregivenbelow:
TheCompanyLawBoard(CLB)hasbeenabolished.InsteadaTribunalisformed
whichiscalled‘NationalCompanyLawTribunal(NCLT)’.Thematterspendingwith
theCLBcanbetransferredtotheNCLTandtheordersalreadypassedbyCLB
wouldbevalidandcanbeenforcedthroughcourt.2
TherehabilitationofsickcompanieswillbeundertakenbytheTribunalandnotby
theBoardforIndustrial&FinancialReconstruction(BIFR).EarliertheBIFR3was
entrustedwiththerehabilitationofsickcompaniesasthemattercameunderthe
jurisdictionoftheSickIndustrialCompaniesAct1985(SICA)4,butnowtheSick
IndustrialCompaniesRepealAct2003hasreplacedSICAandtheworkofrevival
andrehabilitationhasbeenentrustedtoNCLT.
TheseriesofActswhichwerepassedaregivenchronologicallyinfigure1
