(as revised on August 3, 2016)
Voting by electronic mode means a process for recording votes by the members using a computer based machine. The system displays an electronic ballot and enables a shareholder to record the vote. The number of votes polled in favour or against a resolution is computed such that the entire voting gets registered and counted in an electronic registry in a centralized server..
Section 108 of the Companies Act, 2013 (‘Act, 2013’) read with Rule 20 of the Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014 (‘MGT Rules’) had made it mandatory for every listed company and company having not less than 1000 shareholders to provide e-voting facility at general meetings..
Regulation 44 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (LODR)also provide that every listed company shall provide the facility of remote e-voting for all the shareholders’ resolution. Moreover, in order to ensure consistency between LODR and Companies Act, 2013, R.44 provides that the listed entity shall comply with Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014.
The listed entity shall also file the details of voting results to the stock exchange within 48 hours of the conclusion of General Meeting..
MCA has also issued some clarifications on the e-voting, which are:
1) Where e-voting takes place, voting by show of hands is not applicable.
2) If shareholders choose to vote electronically, he will be allowed to participate physically in the general meetings, but he cannot vote on the resolutions again;
3) Where certain items are required to be transacted only by postal ballot it has to be decided only by postal ballot and not at the general meeting;
4) In case a person is unable to vote electronically and not able to attend the general meeting also, then he would not get any facility to vote by postal ballot. This clarification is for those items which are not being transacted by Postal Ballot..
Agencies for e voting:
NSDL and CDSL ventures ltd (CVL) have developed an internet based e-voting platform which enables the shareholders to vote electronically in a convenient manner.
