Board of directors to include persons with professional or other experience
Section 10A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 deals with board of directors to include persons with professional or other experience. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, every banking company,-- (a) in existence on the commencement of section 3 of the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 1968 (58 of 1968), or (b) which comes into existence thereafter, shall comply with the requirements of this The Act came into force on 16 Mar 1949.
1[10A. Board of directors to include persons with professional or other experience.--(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, every banking company,--
(a) in existence on the commencement of section 3 of the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 1968 (58 of 1968), or
(b) which comes into existence thereafter,
shall comply with the requirements of this section:
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall apply to a banking company referred to in clause (a) for a period of three months from such commencement.
(2) Not less than fifty-one per cent. of the total number of members of the Board of directors of a banking company shall consist of persons, who--
(a) shall have special knowledge or practical experience in respect of one or more of the following matters, namely:--
(i) accountancy,
(ii) agriculture and rural economy,
(iii) banking,
(iv) co-operation,
(v) economics,
(vi) finance,
(vii) law,
(viii) small-scale industry,
(ix) any other matter the special knowledge of, and practical experience in, which would, in the opinion of the Reserve Bank, be useful to the banking company:
Provided that out of the aforesaid number of directors, not less than two shall be persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of agriculture and rural economy, co-operation or small-scale industry; and
(b) shall not--
(1) have substantial interest in, or be connected with, whether as employee, manager or managing agent,--
(i) any company, not being a company registered under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956.), or
(ii) any firm, which carries on any trade, commerce or industry and which, in either case, is not a small-scale industrial concern, or
(2) be proprietors of any trading, commercial or industrial concern, not being a small-scale industrial concern.
2[(2A) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), or in any other law for the time being in force,--
(i) no director of a banking company, other than its chairman or whole-time director, by whatever name called, shall hold office continuously for a period exceeding eight years;
(ii) a chairman or other whole-time director of a banking company who has been removed from office as such chairman, or whole-time director, as the case may be, under the provisions of this Act shall also cease to be a director of the banking company and shall also not be eligible to be appointed as a director of such banking company, whether by election or co-option or otherwise, for a period of four years from the date of his ceasing to be the chairman or whole-time director, as the case may be.]
(3) If, in respect of any banking company, the requirements, as laid down in sub-section (2), are not fulfilled at any time, the Board of directors of such banking company shall re-constitute such Board so as to ensure that the said requirements are fulfilled.
(4) If, for the purpose of re-constituting the Board under sub-section (3), it is necessary to retire any director or directors, the Board may, by lots drawn in such manner as may be prescribed, decide which director or directors shall cease to hold office and such decision shall be binding on every director of the Board.
(5) Where the Reserve Bank is of opinion that the composition of the Board of directors of a banking company is such that it does not fulfil the requirements of sub-section (2), it may, after giving to such banking company a reasonable opportunity of being heard, by an order in writing, direct the banking company to so re-constitute its Board of directors as to ensure that the said requirements are fulfilled and, if within two months from the date of receipt of that order, the banking company does not comply with the directions made by the Reserve Bank, that Bank may, after determining, by lots drawn in such manner as may be prescribed, the person who ought to be removed from the membership of the Board of directors, remove such person from the office of the director of such banking company and with a view to complying with the provisions of sub-section (2), appoint a suitable person as a member of the Board of directors in the place of the person so removed whereupon the person so appointed shall be deemed to have been duly elected by the banking company as its director.
(6) Every appointment, removal or reconstitution duly made, and every election duly held, under this section shall be final and shall not be called into question in any court.
(7) Every director elected or, as the case may be, appointed under this section shall hold office until the date up to which his predecessor would have held office, if the election had not been held, or, as the case may be, the appointment had not been made.
(8) No act or proceeding of the Board of directors of a banking company shall be invalid by reason only of any defect in the composition thereof or on the ground that it is subsequently discovered that any of its members did not fulfil the requirements of this section.
Section 10A, The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (Act 10 of 1949).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
-
… This brings us to the main challenge. Mr. Cooper submitted that the jurisdiction of the civil courts to entertain a challenge to the appointment of a director is barred in view of sub-section(6) of section 10A of The Banking Regulation Act, 1949. He submitted that every appointment of a director to a banking company has to be compliant with section 10A. Therefore, even if the Board of directors is constituted in conformity with the provisions of section 10A, the civil court cannot entertain a challenge to the appointment …
Made under this section, and citing it
1 instrument names this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 10A
What does Section 10A of the Banking Regulation Act deal with?
Section 10A of the Banking Regulation Act is headed "Board of directors to include persons with professional or other experience". [10A. Board of directors to include persons with professional or other experience.--(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, every banking company,-- (a) in existence on the commencement of section 3 of the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 1968 (58 of 1968),
How do I find court cases under Section 10A of the Banking Regulation Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Banking Regulation Act 1949 10A, section 10A Banking Regulation Act 1949, section 10A of the Banking Regulation Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.
What should I read with Section 10A of the Banking Regulation Act, and has it changed?
3 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. One instrument names it without being made under it, most recently Banking Regulation (Companies) Rules 1949 (1949).
When did Section 10A of the Banking Regulation Act come into force?
Section 10A of the Banking Regulation Act, cited as Banking Regulation Act 1949 10A, came into force on 16 Mar 1949, having been enacted on 10 Mar 1949. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 56. Act to apply to co-operative societies subject to modifications5544 words
- 45. Power of Reserve Bank to apply to Central Government for suspension of business by a banking company and to prepare scheme of reconstitution or amalgamation2310 words
- 10B. Banking company to be managed by whole time chairman1171 words
- 5. Interpretation1164 words
- 43A. Preferential payments to depositors1031 words
- 11. Requirement as to minimum paid-up capital and reserves988 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.