In case of the death of a joint holder, the survivor(s) shall be the only person(s) recognized by the company as having title to his interest in the shares, a Will in favour of third person would be of no consequence – Pratik Chandrakant Khandhadiya Vs. Hindustan Unilever Ltd. – NCLT Mumbai Bench
Hon’ble NCLT Mumbai Bench held that a perusal of the Article 23 of Schedule I (Table F) of the Companies Act, 2013 reveals that it is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the death of a member where the member was a joint holder and the second part deals with the eventuality of death of the sole member. It further provides that in case of the death of a joint holder, the survivor or survivors shall be the only person (s) recognized by the company as having title to his interest in the shares. In case of the death of a sole member, his nominee, if any, or his legal representatives shall be recognized by the company as having title in his shares. Therefore, from the Article 23 of Schedule I (Table F) of the Companies Act, 2013, it is evident that since the Petitioner’s Mother held share jointly with him, the Petitioner would be the only person recognized by the Respondents for having a title to her interest in the shares being a survivor. Since the Petitioner’s Mother was not the sole holder of the shares, the will in favour of the sister of the Petitioner would be of no consequence.