Pragya Education Ltd. failed to hold annual general meeting within the due date and they failed to place audited financials at the meeting for shareholder's approval. Since financials were not approved at AGM, Directors

According to Section 243 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 if, in one series of acts so connected together as to form the same transaction, more offences than one are committed by the same person, he may be charged with, and tried at one trial for, every such offence. This could be used when different offences committed by a single person or same persons and the trial could be a combined and held as a single trial. Case Law under erstwhile Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 The Calcutta High Court in Madan Gopal Dey and Anor. V. State and Anor. held that if several offences are committed in the course of the same transaction, CrPC would authorize their joinder for the purpose of a single trial. The term 'same transaction' suggests a continuity of action and purpose and it has been held that the real and substantive test for determining whether several offences are so connected together as to form one transaction depends upon whether they are related together in point of purpose or as cause and effect or as principal and subsidiary acts so as to constitute one continuous action. If a continuous tread runs through the acts complained of, charges arising out of those acts would be liable to be joined together. Continuity of action, therefore, seems to be a very important test in the matter. In the given case, substance of the charges framed against the petitioners is that they had failed to hold the AGM and that they had failed to place the balance sheet and profit and loss account at the meeting and they had further failed to file with the Registrar the annual return and copies of the balance sheet and profit and loss account within the specified period following AGM. Applying above provision, Directors as well as Company are thus liable to be jointly tried. Hence, plea of the Director is valid.