Q.Distinguish between a Member and a Shareholder of a company.

The core contrast is what each term is actually defined by — a register entry for one, a share held for the other.

Basis of meaning: a Member is a person whose name is entered in the company's Register of Members; a Shareholder is a person who actually holds one or more shares of the company.

Applicability: the term "Member" applies to companies with or without share capital; "Shareholder" applies only where the company has share capital and has actually issued shares.

Companies limited by guarantee: such a company has members (who agree in writing and are registered) but issues no shares at all, so it has no shareholders in any sense.

Subscriber to the Memorandum: becomes a Member from the moment of incorporation itself (Section 2(55)(i)), even before shares are formally allotted or a share certificate issued — so, briefly, a Member without yet being a Shareholder in the fuller documentary sense.

Share-warrant bearer (legacy illustration): on issue of a share warrant, the company was required to strike the original holder's name off the Register of Members, so the bearer remained a Shareholder in substance while ceasing to be a Member in the technical, register-based sense. …