ABC Ltd. appointed Anil as director on 1st November, 2014. Subsequently, Anil obtained his DIN on 10th November, 2014. ABC Ltd. filed DIR-12 on 15th November, 2014. Examine the legal validity of the appointment of Anil.

Section 152(3) of the Companies Act, 2013, prescribes that no person shall be appointed as a director of a company unless he has been allotted the Director Identification Number (DIN) under section 154. Further sub-section (4) prescribes that every person proposed to be appointed as a director by the company in general meeting shall furnish his DIN. In addition, rule 9 of the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014 prescribes that every individual, who is to be appointed as director of a company shall make an application electronically in Form DIR-3 to the Central Govt. for the allotment of a DIN. Based upon the legal provisions of the Act and rules made thereunder, the appointment of Anil as director by ABC Ltd. is not valid because he was appointed on 1st November, 2014, but obtained his DIN only on 10th November, 2014. A person must have a DIN before being appointed as a director.