Access rights have their own controls
Companies Act section 119 covers books containing general-meeting minutes and postal-ballot resolution minutes. These are kept at the registered office and are open to inspection by members during business hours without charge, subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by its articles or in general meeting that still allow at least two hours each business day. A member may request copies under subsection (2), to be furnished within seven working days after the request, subject to the applicable fee provisions and free soft-copy entitlement in rule 26.
Read the applicable text: NCLT-hosted Companies Act section 119.
Do not confuse minute preparation with member access
Section 118’s minute-book process is different from section 119’s inspection and copy rights. A company cannot substitute an informal AGM summary for the actual covered minutes. Conversely, the member-access language here should not be extended automatically into a general right to all Board or committee minutes. Identify the requested record and any separate legal basis for records outside this provision.
Record the actual request
Retain receipt date, member identity, requested meeting or postal-ballot record, method of receipt and the requested copy. For general-meeting copies, rule 26 permits the sum specified in the articles, capped at ₹10 per page or part-page. A requested soft copy of minutes of previous general meetings held during the immediately preceding three financial years must be supplied free. Do not charge for inspection or make a qualifying free soft copy conditional on payment. A dispute or query should be resolved promptly; do not assume internal routing restarts the statutory clock.
Use the actual working-day calendar
Seven working days is not seven calendar days. Identify the company’s relevant working days and holidays and preserve the counting basis. The examples assume a complete member request and satisfaction of any applicable fee condition, including the free soft-copy entitlement where relevant, exclude the request date and use a Monday-to-Friday business calendar, with no holidays except the one expressly stated. Real company calendars, receipt facts and applicable counting rules must be checked; an assumed illustration cannot establish a real company’s deadline.
Document inspection and complete delivery
Keep the available inspection window, appointment communications, inspection record and the copy actually furnished. For copies, check meeting identity, complete pages and the actual dispatch or furnishing evidence; a draft email sitting unsent is not completion. Reasonable inspection restrictions must still preserve the statutory minimum access.
Handle refusal and default through the proper route
Section 119(4) empowers the Tribunal in the stated refusal/default cases to direct immediate inspection or sending of the copy, without prejudice to the other statutory action. This article does not calculate penalties or decide a disputed refusal. Preserve the request, response and complete chronology rather than presenting a late copy or an unresolved gap as timely compliance.
Six worked illustrations
All facts and amounts are fictional. Calculations illustrate the stated assumptions, not a predetermined legal outcome.
Illustrative example 1: Monday request
Assume a complete copy request on Monday 1 June 2026, with the stated Monday–Friday calendar and no holiday. The seven working days after the request are 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10 June. The illustrative seventh day is Wednesday 10 June, not 8 June from adding seven calendar days.
Illustrative example 2: Friday request
For a request on Friday 5 June 2026 under the same assumptions, count 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 and 16 June. The illustrative seventh working day is Tuesday 16 June. Two weekends intervene in that count.
Illustrative example 3: One specific holiday
For the 1 June request, assume Wednesday 10 June is also a company non-working holiday. Counting 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 11 June gives Thursday 11 June as the illustrative seventh working day. Do not copy that holiday assumption into another company’s calendar.
Illustrative example 4: Inspection availability
An offered business-day inspection window of 90 minutes is 30 minutes below the two-hour statutory minimum. A two-hour window is 120 minutes. This arithmetic does not decide whether all other access conditions are reasonable.
Illustrative example 5: Separate covered records
A request lists eight records: six assumed general-meeting or postal-ballot minute records and two Board-minute records. Six fall within this section’s identified record population; examine any separate right for the other two rather than claiming section 119 automatically covers all eight.
Illustrative example 6: Copy completeness
The requested covered minutes occupy 24 pages, but the prepared copy contains 21. Three pages remain missing. Verify identity and completeness before recording the copy as furnished; sending most pages is not a reliable completion control.
Ten-step verification table
| Step | Action | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verify member and request | Identity, receipt and requested record. |
| 2 | Classify the minutes | General meeting/postal ballot versus other records. |
| 3 | Separate inspection and copy routes | Free inspection; rule 26 copy-fee ceiling and qualifying free soft copies. |
| 4 | Confirm registered-office availability | Location and access arrangements. |
| 5 | Check minimum daily inspection window | At least two hours each business day. |
| 6 | Establish the working calendar | Actual weekends, holidays and receipt facts. |
| 7 | Calculate seven working days | Transparent day-by-day register. |
| 8 | Prepare the correct complete copy | Meeting identity and page reconciliation. |
| 9 | Record actual furnishing | Dispatch/delivery evidence and inspection logs. |
| 10 | Resolve refusal or dispute properly | Chronology, responses and applicable Tribunal route. |
Sixteen practitioner FAQs
1. Which minutes are identified by section 119?
General-meeting minutes and postal-ballot resolution minutes.
2. Does it automatically include all Board minutes?
No. Identify any separate right rather than extending this provision automatically.
3. Where are the covered books kept?
At the registered office under subsection (1).
4. Is member inspection chargeable under this provision?
The inspection right is without charge.
5. Can reasonable restrictions be imposed?
Yes, subject to the statutory minimum access and actual requirements.
6. What minimum inspection time is stated?
Not less than two hours in each business day.
7. Are copies identical to free inspection?
No. Rule 26 caps the articles-based general-meeting copy fee at ₹10 per page or part-page and entitles members to requested soft copies for the specified preceding-three-financial-years meetings free of cost.
8. What deadline does subsection (2) state?
Within seven working days after the member’s request, with its stated fee condition.
9. Can seven calendar days always be used?
No. It is a working-day period.
10. Are all companies assumed closed every Saturday?
No. Verify the actual relevant calendar; that is only an illustration assumption here.
11. Can a hypothetical holiday set a real deadline?
No. Use actual holidays and receipt facts.
12. Does internal forwarding restart the period automatically?
Do not assume that; preserve the company’s actual request receipt and applicable rules.
13. Is an unsent draft email proof of furnishing?
No. Record the actual completed furnishing step.
14. Why count pages?
A timely but incomplete or wrong copy is not a sound completion record.
15. What does subsection (4) provide?
The stated Tribunal power to direct immediate inspection or sending of the copy in refusal/default cases.
16. Does this article calculate a penalty?
No. It provides request, access and completion controls, not a penalty determination.
Official sources
NCLT-hosted Companies Act section 119
Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014: rule 26