British India Corporation Limited (Acquisition of Shares) Act, 1981
No: 29 Dated: Sep, 11 1981
THE BRITISH INDIA CORPORATION LIMITED (ACQUISITION OF SHARES) ACT, 1981
ACT NO. 29 OF 1981
An Act to provide for the acquisition of certain shares of the British India Corporation Limited with a view to securing the proper management of the affairs of the Company and the continuity and development of the production of goods which are vital to the needs of the country and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
WHERE AS Messrs. British India Corporation Limited, Kanpur, are engaged in the manufacture and production of pure and blended woollen fabrics which are vital to the needs of the general public;
AND WHEREAS as a result of an investigation made under section 15 of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 (65 of 1951), certain directions were issued to the Company under section 16 of that Act which, inter alia, included the modernisation of the plant and machinery of the undertakings of the Company;
AND WHEREAS for the purpose of carrying out the said directions, public financial institutions had advanced large sums of money to the Company; AND WHEREAS the Central Government and certain public financial institutions have also invested considerable funds in the share capital of the Company;
AND WHERE AS the State Bank of India has advanced considerable sums to the Company and a part thereof has been guaranteed by the Central Government;
AND WHEREAS further investment of large sums of money is necessary for the maintenance and development of the production of the undertakings of the Company and for securing the proper management of the affairs of the Company;
AND WHEREAS acquisition by the Central Government of an effective control over the affairs of the Company is necessary to enable it to make the investments aforesaid;
BE it enabled by Parliament in the Thirty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the British India Corporation Limited (Acquisition of Shares) Act, 1981.
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 11th day of June, 1981.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “appointed day” means the 11th day of June, 1981;
(b) “bank” means a banking company within the meaning of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949);
(c) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Payments appointed under section 6;
(d) “Company” means British India Corporation Limited,being a company within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), and having its registered office at Sutherland House, Kanpur, in the State of Uttar Pradesh;
(e) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(f) “share” means a share, whether ordinary or preference, in the capital of the Company, and includes a share pledged by any shareholder with any bank or other creditor, but does not include any share in the capital of the Company held by—
(i) the Central Government;
(ii) any State Government;
(iii) the State Bank of India, established under section 3 of the State Bank of India Act,1955 (23 of 1955), and its subsidiary banks;
(iv) the Life Insurance Corporation of India, established under section 3 of the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 (31 of 1956);
(v) the Unit Trust of India, established under section 3 of the Unit Trust of India Act, 1963 (52 of 1963);
(vi) any corresponding new bank, within the meaning of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 (5 of 1970);
(vii) any corresponding new bank, within the meaning of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act,1980 (40 of 1980);
(viii) any general insurance company nationalised by the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 (57 of 1972);
(g) “shareholder” means,—
(i) a person who, immediately before the appointed day, was registered by the Company as the holder of any share and includes his legal representative; or
(ii) a person who, before the appointed day, had lodged with the Company a proper instrument of transfer of any share in the form prescribed under section 108 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), and executed in accordance with the provisions of that section; or
(iii) a person who claims under a proper instrument of transfer of any share in the form prescribed under section 108 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), and delivers such instrument to the Commissioner, duly executed, on or before such date as the Central Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf;
(h) “specified date” means such date as the Central Government may, for the purpose of any provision of this Act, by notification, specify and different dates may be specified for different provisions of this Act;
(i) words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Companies Act,1956 (1 of 1956), have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act.