The question that arises for determination in this appeal is the validity of the election of the respondents as directors of a company called “Tiffin’s Barytes, Asbestos and Paints, Limited”, at a meeting of the general body held on 26th Feruary, 1951. The facts are not in dispute. The company was incorporated in 1945 and its first directors were five persons named in Article 49. One Veeramani was co-opted as a director and the strength of the directorate was thus raised to six. At the first annual meeting which was held on 24th June, 1946, all the directors retired as provided in Article 53 and were re-elected. Before the next general body meeting which was held on 27th August, 1947, three of the directors had resigned and a fourth resigned at that meeting with the result that the strength of the directorate became reduced to two. The next general body meeting was held on 30th December, 1948 and thereafter no annual meeting was called. It was in this state of affairs that one of the shareholders Mrs. Ananthalakshmi Ammal filed Application No. 3898 of 1950 under section 79 (3) of the Indian Companies Act for a direction that a general body meeting might be con