15. Period of office of directors and filling of vacancies
.-(1) An election of directors under these rules (other than the first such election) shall be held not later than three years from the date of the last such election:Provided that an election for the holding of which the latest date otherwise permissible under this sub-rule is a date in the year 1943 may be postponed to a date not later than the 31st December, 1944.(2)At every meeting of policy holders held in pursuance of sub-rule (1), all the directors elected or appointed under these rules shall retire, but any director so retiring shall, if he remains eligible under rule 13, be eligible for re-election.(3)In the event of casual vacancy arising among the directors elected or appointed under these rules, the vacancy shall be filled by appointing the person highest in the list prepared under sub-rule (10) of rule 14, who remains eligible under rule 13 and is willing to act as a director.(4)Any person in the said list who is not appointed in his turn under sub-rule (3), either because he has ceased to be eligible under rule 13 or because of his unwillingness to act shall be removed from the list.(5)In the event of there being no person available for appointment under sub--rule (3), the casual vacancy shall be filled by the remaining directors (if not less than two in number) elected or appointed under these rules by appointing a person eligible under rule 13, or if such directors (or a majority of them) are unable to agree upon a person to be appointed, the appointment shall be decided by lot from amongst the persons eligible under rule 13 who have been considered for the appointment by the said remaining directors.(6)In the event of there being only one or no such remaining director, the casual vacancy shall be filled by an election in accordance with these rules to be held not later than six months from the date on which the vacancy occurred, unless the company secures from the Central Government within two months from the said date an exemption for that purpose from the provisions of section 48 of the Act under clause (b) of sub-section (3) thereof.(7)Any person appointed or elected to fill a casual vacancy shall be subject to retirement at the same time as would have been the director in whose place he is appointed or elected.(8)An election held in pursuance of sub-rule (6) to fill a casual vacancy shall not be reckoned as an election for the purpose of sub-rule (1).(9)Nothing in the rule shall be deemed to affect the application of Regulations 78 and 79 in Table A of the First Schedule to the [Indian Companies Act, 1913 (7 of 1913)] [ Now see the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956).], to directors elected or appointed otherwise than under these rules.Licenses And Certificates
