'What's in a name' - channeling Shakespeare, we
looked at the changes in the Companies Act, 2013
("2013 Act") with respect to preference
and equity shares.
The scheme of erstwhile Companies Act 1956 ('1956
Act') under Part IV - titled 'Kinds of Share
Capital', was two-fold. Firstly, that there would be only two
kinds of share capital - preference and equity. 'Preference
share capital' was defined as that part of the share capital of
the company which provided preference to the holder at the time of
payment of dividend and liquidation. 'Equity share capital'
was defined as all share capital which was not preference share
capital. Secondly, that (a) there would be no inequality
of voting rights as between members holding equity share capital in
a company; and (b) voting rights of a preference
shareholder, broadly speaking, would be in the same proportion as
the total paid up capital in respect of the preference share bears
to the total paid-up equity share capital. To
