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Section 161

Appointment of additional director, alternate director and nominee director

(1)
The articles of a company may confer on its Board of Directors the power to appoint any person, other than a person who fails to get appointed as a director in a general meeting, as an additional director at any time who shall hold office up to the date of the next annual general meeting or the last date on which the annual general meeting should have been held, whichever is earlier.
(2)
The Board of Directors of a company may, if so authorised by its articles or by a resolution passed by the company in general meeting, appoint a person, not being a person holding any alternate directorship for any other director in the company or holding directorship in the same company , to act as an alternate director for a director during his absence for a period of not less than three months from India:
Proviso

Provided that no person shall be appointed as an alternate director for an independent director unless he is qualified to be appointed as an independent director under the provisions of this Act:

Proviso

Provided further that an alternate director shall not hold office for a period longer than that permissible to the director in whose place he has been appointed and shall vacate the office if and when the director in whose place he has been appointed returns to India:

Proviso

Provided also that if the term of office of the original director is determined before he so returns to India, any provision for the automatic re-appointment of retiring directors in default of another appointment shall apply to the original, and not to the alternate director. (Effective from 01-04-2014)

(3)
Subject to the articles of a company, the Board may appoint any person as a director nominated by any institution in pursuance of the provisions of any law for the time being in force or of any agreement or by the Central Government or the State Government by virtue of its shareholding in a Government company.
Proviso

Provided that in case of a Specified IFSC public company, the Board may appoint, any person nominated by any institution or company or body corporate as a director in pursuance of the provisions of any law for the time being in force or of any agreement or by the Central Government or the State Government by virtue of its shareholding in a Government company.

Proviso

Provided that in case of a Specified IFSC private company, the Board may appoint, any person nominated by any institution or company or body corporate as a director in pursuance of the provisions of any law for the time being in force or of any agreement or by the Central Government or the State Government by virtue of its shareholding in a Government company.

(4)
In the case of a public company , if the office of any director appointed by the company in general meeting is vacated before his term of office expires in the normal course, the resulting casual vacancy may, in default of and subject to any regulations in the articles of the company, be filled by the Board of Directors at a meeting of the Board which shall be subsequently approved by members in the immediate next general meeting:
Proviso

Provided that any person so appointed shall hold office only up to the date up to which the director in whose place he is appointed would have held office if it had not been vacated.

2

(5)
Articles means the articles of association of a company as originally framed or as altered from time to time or applied in pursuance of any previous company law or of this Act
(6)
of section 149
Notes, amendments & references (4)

Inserted vide Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017 dated 03.01.2018 effective from 09.02.2018. To view the notification, Click Here

Provided Inserted vide Exemption Notification to specified IFSC Public Companies, GSR 08 (E) dated 04.01.2017. To view the notification Click Here

Provided Inserted vide Exemption Notification to specified IFSC Private Companies, GSR 09 (E) dated 04.01.2017. To view the notification Click Here

In the case of a public company Omitted vide Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017 dated 03.01.2018 effective from 09.02.2018. To view the notification, Click Here