DOCTRINE OF INDOOR MANAGEMENT
Doctrine of Constructive Notice:
Section 399 of the Companies Act, 2013 provides that any person can inspect by electronic means any document kept by the Registrar, or make a record of the same, or get a copy or extracts of any document, including certificate of incorporation of any company, on payment of prescribed fees.
The memorandum and articles of association of a company when registered with Registrar of Companies, become public documents, and they are available for inspection to any person, on the payment of a nominal fees. In other words, Section 399 confers the right of inspection to all. It is, therefore, the duty of every person dealing with a company to inspect its documents and make sure that his contract is in conformity with their provisions but whether a person reads them or not, it will be presumed that he knows the contents of the documents. This kind of presumed/implied notice is called constructive notice.
The memorandum and articles of association of a company when registered with Registrar of Companies, become public documents, and they are available for inspection to any person, on the payment of a nominal fees. In other words, Section 399 confers the right of inspection to all. It is, therefore, the duty of every person dealing with a company to inspect its documents and make sure that his contract is in conformity with their provisions but whether a person reads them or not, it will be presumed that he knows the contents of the documents. This kind of presumed/implied notice is called constructive notice.
By constructive notice is meant:
(i) Whether a person reads the documents or not, he is presumed to have knowledge of the contents of the documents,
He is not only presumed to have read the documents but also understood them in their true perspective, and
(ii) Every person dealing with the company not only has the constructive notice of the memorandum and articles, but also of all the other related documents, such as Special Resolutions etc., which are required to be registered with the Registrar.
Thus, if a person enters into a contract which is beyond the powers of the company as defined in the memorandum, or outside the authority of directors as per memorandum or articles, he cannot acquire any rights under the contract against the company.
Doctrine of Indoor Management:
The Doctrine of Indoor Management is the exception to the doctrine of constructive notice. The aforesaid doctrine of constructive notice does in no sense mean that outsiders are deemed to have notice of the internal auairs of the company. For instance, if an act is authorised by the articles or memorandum, an outsider is entitled to assume that all the detailed formalities for doing that act have been observed. This can be explained with the help of a landmark case The Royal British Bank vs. Turquand. This is the doctrine of indoor management popularly known as Turquand Rule.
FACTS of The Royal British Bank vs. Turquand
Mr. Turquand was the oflcial manager (liquidator) of the insolvent Cameron’s Coalbrook Steam, Coal and Swansea and Loughor Railway Company. It was incorporated under the Joint Stock Companies Act, 1844. The company had given a bond for £ 2,000 to the Royal British Bank, which secured the company’s drawings on its current account. The bond was under the company’s seal, signed by two directors and the secretary. When the company was sued, it alleged that under its registered deed of settlement (the articles of association), directors only had power to borrow up to an amount authorized by a company resolution. A resolution had been passed but not specifying how much the directors could borrow.
Held, it was decided that the bond was valid, so the Royal British Bank could enforce the terms. He said the bank was deemed to be aware that the directors could borrow only up to the amount resolutions allowed. Articles of association were registered with Companies House, so there was constructive notice. But the bank could not be deemed to know which ordinary resolutions passed, because these were not registrable. The bond was valid because there was no requirement to look into the company’s internal workings. This is the indoor management rule, that the company’s indoor auairs are the company’s problem.
Exceptions to the doctrine of Indoor Management:
Thus, you will notice that the aforementioned rule of Indoor Management is important to persons dealing with a company through its directors or other persons. They are entitled to assume that the acts of the directors or other officers of the company are validly performed, if they are within the scope of their apparent authority. So long as an act is valid under the articles, if done in a particular manner, an outsider dealing with the company is entitled to assume that it has been done in the manner required.
