Lai King
New chairman, secretary, and treasurer were elected in our Society. However, it has been found that the Old Committee Members, i.e. retiring chairman, secretary and treasurer had (pre-)signed all the certificates in the Share Certificate Book, and those are new certificates.
If new members come, can the present secretary issue those certificates which bore the signatures of the previous committee members?
Are these certificates valid since those three members are no longer the Office Bearers on the date of issuance?
I C Naik
Share Certificate is the documentary legal evidence of the fact of a person being a member of the Society.
Bye Law 9 “A share certificate, prescribed in bye-laws bearing distinctive number and indicating the name of the member, the number of shares issued and the value paid thereon, shall be issued by the society to every member for the shares subscribed by him, within a period of six months of the allotment of the shares.”
No express mention of allotment of the shares is found in the Model Bye Laws the date of the resolution of the Committee meeting admitting a person to the membership, as per procedure prescribed in Bye Law No 65 upon having found the membership application meeting all requirements laid down under applicable Bye Laws mainly No 19, is the date of allotment of share certificate.
So the Share Certificate with the signatures of the Chairman, Secretary and another authorized member is the only valid certificate.
The Remedy is scrap these papers putting on record of the Committee Meeting and issue fresh ones with signatures of the office bearers on the date of signing the certificate.