Every listed company or a company having five hundred or more shareholders may provide to its members facility to exercise their right to vote at general meetings by electronic means. a member may exercise his right to vote at any general meeting by electronic means and company may pass any resolution by electronic voting system .
It may be noted that ‘voting by electronic means’ or ‘electronic voting system’ means a ‘secured system’ based process of display of electronic ballots, recording of votes of the members and the number of votes polled in favour or against, such that the entire voting exercised by way of electronic means gets registered and counted in an electronic registry in a centralized server with adequate ‘cyber security’. ‘Secured system’ means computer hardware, software, and procedure that –
(a) are reasonably secure from unauthorized access and misuse;(b) provide a reasonable level of reliability and correct operation;(c) are reasonably suited to performing the intended functions; and(d) adhere to generally accepted security procedures.
“Cyber security” means protecting information, equipment, devices, computer, computer resource, communication device and information stored therein from unauthorized access, use, disclosures, disruption, modification or destruction.
A company which opts to provide the facility to its members to exercise their votes at any general meeting by electronic voting system shall follow the following procedure:
- The notices of the meeting shall be sent to all the members, auditors of the company, or directors either - (a) by registered post or speed post ; or (b) through electronic means like registered e-mail. (c) through courier service.
- The notice shall also be placed on the website of the company, if any and of the agency forthwith after it is sent to the members.
- The notice of the meeting shall clearly mention that the business may be transacted through electronic voting system and the company is providing facility for voting by electronic means.
- The notice shall clearly indicate the process and manner for voting by electronic means and time schedule including the time period during which the votes may be cast, address of places for casting votes duly sorted in order of name of states or union territories, where the members can cast their votes electronically.
- The company shall cause an advertisement to be published, not less than five days before the date of beginning of the voting period, at least once in a vernacular newspaper in the principal vernacular language of the district in which the registered office of the company is situated, and having a wide circulation in that district, and at least once in English language in an English newspaper having a wide circulation in that district, about having sent the notice of the meeting and specifying therein, inter alia, the following matters:
- statement that the business may be transacted by electronic voting;
- the date of completion of sending of notices;
- the date and time of commencement of voting through electronic means;
- the date and time of end of voting through electronic means;
- the statement that voting shall not be allowed beyond the said date and time;
- website address of the company and agency, if any, where notice of the meeting is displayed; and
- contact details of the person responsible to address the grievances connected with the electronic voting;
- The e-voting shall remain open for not less than one day and not more than three days. Provided that in all such cases, such voting period shall be completed three days prior to the date of the general meeting;
- During the e-voting period, shareholders of the company, holding shares either in physical form or in dematerialized form, as on the record date, may cast their vote electronically. Once the vote on a resolution is cast by the shareholder, he shall not be allowed to change it subsequently.
- At the end of the voting period, the portal where votes are cast shall forthwith be blocked.
- The Board of directors shall appoint one scrutinizer, who may be chartered Accountant in practice, Cost Accountant in practice, or Company Secretary in practice or an advocate, but who is not in employment of the company and is a person of repute who, in the opinion of the Board can scrutinize the e- voting process in a fair and transparent manner. It may be noted that the scrutinizer so appointed may take assistance of a person who is not in employment of the company and who is well-versed with the e-voting system.
- The scrutinizer shall be willing to be appointed and be available for the purpose of ascertaining the requisite majority.
- The scrutinizer shall, within a period of not exceeding three working days from the date of conclusion of e-voting period, unblock the votes in the presence of at least two witnesses and make a scrutinizer’s report of the votes cast in favour or against, if any, forthwith to the Chairman.
- The scrutinizer shall maintain a register either manually or electronically to record the consent or otherwise, received, mentioning the particulars of name, address, folio number or client ID of the shareholders, number of shares held by them, nominal value of such shares and whether the shares have differential voting rights.
- The register and all other papers relating to electronic voting shall remain in the safe custody of the scrutinizer till the chairman considers, approves and signs the minutes. Thereafter, the scrutinizer shall return the register and other related papers to the company.
- The results declared along with the scrutinizer’s report shall be placed on the website of the company and on the website of the agency within two days of passing of the resolution at the relevant general meeting of members.
- Subject to receipt of sufficient votes, the resolution shall be deemed to be passed on the date of the relevant general meeting of members.
