law: Companies Act, 1956
  Sec 49    -    
  
  Investments of company to be held in its own name. 
  (1) Save as otherwise provided in sub-sections
  
  (2) to (5) or any other law for the time being in force and subject to the
  
  provisions of sub-sections (6) to (8),
  (a) all investments made by a company on its
  
  own behalf shall be made and held by it in its own name; and
  (b) where any such investments are not so held
  
  at the commencement of this Act the company shall, within a period of one year
  
  from such commencement, either cause them to be transferred to, and hold them
  
  in, its own name, or dispose of them.
  (2) Where the company has a right to appoint
  
  any person or persons, or where any nominee or nominees of the company has or
  
  have been appointed, as a director or directors of any other body corporate,
  
  shares in such other body corporate to an amount not exceeding the nominal
  
  value of the qualification shares which are required to be held by a director
  
  thereof, may be registered or held by such company jointly in the names of
  
  itself and of each such person or nominee or in the name of each such person or
  
  nominee.
  (3) A company may hold any shares in its
  
  subsidiary in the name or names of any nominee or nominees of the company, if
  
  and in so far as it is necessary so to do, to ensure that the number of members
  
  of the subsidiary is not reduced, where it is a public company, below seven,
  
  and where it is a private company, below two.
  (4) Sub-section (1) shall not apply to
  
  investments made by a company whose principal business consists of the buying
  
  and selling of shares or securities.
  (5) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to
  
  prevent a company
  (a) from depositing with a bank, being the
  
  bankers of the company, any shares or securities for the collection of any
  
  dividend or interest payable thereon; or
  (aa) from depositing with, or transferring to,
  
  or holding in the name of, State Bank of India or a Scheduled Bank, being the
  
  bankers of the company, shares or securities, in order to facilitate the
  
  transfer thereof :
  Provided  that if within a
  
  period of six months from the date on which the shares or securities are
  
  transferred by the company to, or are first held by the company in the name of,
  
  the State Bank of India or a Scheduled Bank as aforesaid, no transfer of such
  
  shares or securities takes place, the company shall, as soon as practicable
  
  after the expiry of that period, have the shares or securities retransferred to
  
  it from the State Bank of India or the Scheduled Bank or, as the case may be,
  
  again hold the shares or securities in its own name; or
  (b) from depositing with, or transferring to,
  
  any person any shares or securities, by way of security for the repayment of
  
  any loan advanced to the company or the performance of any obligation
  
  undertaken by it.
  (c) from holding investments in the name of a
  
  depository when such investment are in the form of securities held by the
  
  company as a beneficial owner.
  (6) The certificate or letter of allotment
  
  relating to the shares or securities in which investments have been made by a
  
  company shall, except in the cases referred to in sub-sections (4) and (5), be
  
  in the custody of such company or with the State Bank of India or a Scheduled
  
  Bank, being the bankers of the company.
  (7) Where, in pursuance of sub-section (2),
  
  (3), (4) or (5), and shares or securities in which investments have been made,
  
  by a company are not held by it in its own name, the company shall forthwith
  
  enter in a register maintained by it for the purpose
  (a) the nature, value, and such other
  
  particular as may be necessary fully to identify the shares or securities in
  
  question; and
  (b) the bank or person in whose name or
  
  custody the shares or securities are held.
  (8) The register kept under sub-section (7)
  
  shall be open to the inspection of any member or debenture holder of the
  
  company without charge, during business hours, subject to such reasonable
  
  restrictions as the company may, by its articles or in general meeting, impose,
  
  so that not less than two hours in each day are allowed for inspection.
  (9) If default is made in complying with any
  
  of the requirements of sub-sections (1) to (8), the company, and every officer
  
  of the company who is in default, shall be punishable with fine which may
  
  extend to fifty thousand rupees.
  (10) If any inspection required under
  
  sub-section (8) is refused, the Company Law Board may, by order, direct an
  
  immediate inspection of the register.
  Nothing in this sub-section shall be construed
  
  as prejudicing in any way the operation of sub-section (9).
  (11) In this section, "securities"
  
  include stock and debentures.