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Coming up next for Cabinet nod: Companies Bill

Close on the heels of the Cabinet approving a host of economic legislations, Union Law, Justice and Company Affairs Minister Ram Jethmalani today announced that the Companies Bill would be placed before Parliament in the winter session.

Jethmalani said he would take the Companies Bill to the Cabinet ''very soon'' for clearance.

Importantly, failure to report default in re-payment to small depositors to the Company Law Board within 60 days is proposed to be made a criminal offence, the minister said.

The concept of public trustee representing shareholders' interest would also be abolished. ''Shareholders can protect their own interest,'' he said. The public offer will also be redefined and offer to more than 50 persons would be treated as public issue. Furnishing financial statements would be made mandatory and failure to do so would be treated as an offence.

The distinction between the public and the deemed public sector companies would go.''If it is a private company, let it remain a private company,'' Jethmalani said at the lecture organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.

UNI

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