This
goes to say that a private company, in addition to the
earlier conditions, shall have a minimum paid-up share
capital of Rupees One Lakh or such higher capital as
may be prescribed and its Articles shall prohibit invitation
or acceptance of deposits from persons other than its
members, directors or their relatives. In case of such
companies, public interest is not involved.
The basic characteristics of a private company in terms
of section 3(1)(iii) of the Act do not get altered just
because it is a subsidiary of a public company in view
of the fiction in terms of section 3(1)(iv)(c) of the
Act that it is a public company. May be it is a public
company in relation to other provisions of the Act but
not with reference to its basic characteristics. In
terms of that section, a company is a private company
when its articles restrict the right of transfer of
shares, restrict its membership to 50 (other than employees
shareholders) and prohibits invitation to public to
subscribe to its shares. Therefore, all the provisions
in the articles to maintain the basic characteristics
of a private company in terms of that section is restriction
on the right to transfer and the same will apply even
if a private company is a subsidiary of a public company. |