Meaning and Definition of a Meeting

In ordinary usage, a "meeting" simply means people coming together. In company law, however, the word carries a precise technical meaning, because only a properly constituted meeting can validly transact company business and bind the company to the decisions taken there.

Meaning

A meeting, in the context of a company, is a gathering or assembly of a number of persons for a lawful purpose, called and conducted according to law and the company's own rules, to discuss and decide upon matters of common interest to the company. The Companies Act, 2013 itself does not lay down a single all-purpose definition of "meeting," but company law generally treats a gathering as a meeting only when it satisfies certain settled tests — there must be at least two persons present (a company, being a single legal entity, cannot validly meet with itself), the gathering must be convened by a person having the lawful authority to do so, and it must be held for a definite, previously notified purpose.

Essential Features of a Meeting

• Two or more persons. A single individual cannot constitute a meeting; there is a settled principle in company law that "one person cannot make a meeting," though the Act does make narrow statutory exceptions for very small companies in specific situations.
• Proper convening authority. A meeting must be called by a person or body legally entitled to call it — for example, the Board of Directors calling a general meeting, or the members themselves under the requisition provisions.
• A previously fixed date, time and place. Members must know in advance when and where the meeting is to be held, which is precisely the purpose served by a notice.
• A definite agenda. A meeting is held to transact specific, previously identified business; it is not an informal, undefined gathering. …