Companies Act — Section 171

171. Members’ right to inspect.—(1) The register kept under sub-section (1) of section 170,—

(a) shall be open for inspection during business hours and the members shall have a right to take extracts therefrom and copies thereof, on a request by the members, be provided to them free of cost within thirty days; and

(b) shall also be kept open for inspection at every annual general meeting of the company and shall

be made accessible to any person attending the meeting.

(2) If any inspection as provided in clause (a) of sub-section (1) is refused, or if any copy required under that clause is not sent within thirty days from the date of receipt of such request, the Registrar shall on an application made to him order immediate inspection and supply of copies required thereunder.

1[172. Penalty.— If a company is in default in complying with any of the provisions of this Chapter and for which no specific penalty or punishment is provided therein, the company and every officer of the company who is in default shall be liable to a penalty of fifty thousand rupees, and in case of continuing failure, with a further penalty of five hundred rupees for each day during which such failure continues, subject to a maximum of three lakh rupees in case of a company and one lakh rupees in case of an officer who is in default.]