Copies of Memorandum, Articles, etc. to be Given to Members (Section 17)
# Copies of Memorandum, Articles, etc. To Be Given to Members (Section 17)
## The Right
A member has a statutory right to obtain copies of the company's constitutional and governing documents on request.
## What Must Be Provided
On the request of a member, the company shall send copies of the following on payment of the prescribed fee:
1. The Memorandum of Association;
2. The Articles of Association; and
3. Every agreement and every resolution referred to in Section 117 (resolutions and agreements required to be filed), if and in so far as they have not been already embodied in the MOA or AOA.
## Timeline
The company must send the copies within 7 days of the request.
## Penalty for Default
In case of default, the company and every officer who is in default shall be liable for each default:
A penalty of ₹1,000 per day during which the default continues, OR
₹1 lakh,
whichever is less.
Worked example
### Example 1
Example: Mr. A, holding 100 equity shares in Beta Ltd, writes to the company on 1 May requesting a copy of the MOA, AOA and the special resolution authorising the issue of preference shares (filed under Section 117). Beta Ltd must dispatch these documents to him by 8 May along with collecting the prescribed fee. If the company sends them only on 22 May (15 days late), the company and every officer in default are liable to a penalty of ₹1,000 × 14 days late = ₹14,000, subject to a cap of ₹1 lakh.
⚠️ Common exam mistakes
Stating the period as 14 or 30 days — it is 7 days from the date of the request.
Forgetting that Section 117 resolutions/agreements are also part of the documents to be supplied.
Missing the cap: ₹1,000 per day OR ₹1 lakh, whichever is less — students often write '₹1 lakh per day'.
Bare-Act text Section 17 · Companies Act, 2013 · click to expand
(1) A company shall, on being so requested by a member, send to him within seven days of the request and subject to the payment of such fees as may be prescribed, a copy of each of the following documents, namely:— (a) the memorandum; (b) the articles; and (c) every agreement and every resolution referred to in sub-section (1) of section 117, if and in so far as they have not been embodied in the memorandum or articles. (2) If a company makes any default in complying with the provisions of this section, the company and every officer who is in default shall be liable for each default, to a penalty of one thousand rupees for each day during which such default continues or one lakh rupees, whichever is less.