A widow applies for transmission of shares standing in the name of her deceased husband without producing a succession certificate. The company officials insist for succession certificate as mandatory for transmission of

Where any person acquires any right to securities by operation of any law, the company may register the transmission of shares in favour of such person if the company receives intimation of transmission from such person, and in such a case no transfer deed shall be necessary. Article 23(i) of Table F of Schedule I of the Companies Act, 2013, states that on the death of a member, the survivor or survivors where the member was a joint holder, and his nominee or nominees or legal representatives where he was a sole holder, shall be the only persons recognised by the company as having any title to his interest in the shares. Further, according to Section 56(2) of the Companies Act, 2013, a company shall have power to register on receipt of an intimation of transmission of any right to securities by operation of law from any person to whom such right has been transmitted. The legal heirs have to produce the succession certificates for transmission of securities. However, if a widow applies for transmission of the shares standing in the name of her deceased husband without producing succession certificate and if the Articles of Association of the Company so authorizes, the directors may dispense with the production of succession certificate, probate or letter of administration upon such terms as to indemnity, as the Directors may consider necessary, and transmit the shares to the widow of the deceased by obtaining an Indemnity bond, ( Pushpa Vadera vs. Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. ). Therefore, the directors of the company can transmit the shares to the widow by obtaining an Indemnity bond, provided the Articles of Association authorize them to dispense with the succession certificate.