NOTES

Meaning

As defined in the Companies Act, 2013, a “Company” means a company incorporated under this Act or under any previous company law. [Sec. 2(20)]

Lord Justice Lindley has defined a company as

“An association of many persons who contribute money or money's worth to a common stock and employed it in some trade or business and who share the profit or loss arising there from. The common stock so contributed is denoted in money and is the capital of the company. The persons who contributed it or to whom it belongs are members. The proportion of capital to which each member is entitled is his share. The shares are always transferable, although the right to transfer them may be restricted.”

According to Chief Justice Marshall, “a corporation is an artificial being, invisible, intangible, existing only in contemplation of law. Being a mere creation of law, it possesses only those properties which the charter of its creation confers upon it, either expressly or as accidental to its very existence.”

In the words of professor Haney “A company is an incorporated association, which is an artificial person created by law, having a separate entity, with a perpetual succession and a common seal.” This definition sums up the meaning as well as the features of a company succinctly.