Understanding the Definition and Purpose of Meetings

Think about how many “meetings” happen around you in a single week; a class representative gathering student feedback, a college fest committee planning logistics, or a company’s board discussing next year’s budget. All of these get called a “meeting”, but what actually makes something a meeting rather than just a bunch of people standing around? In office management and secretarial practice, this question has a precise answer, and understanding it is the foundation for everything else you will study about notices, agendas, quorum, and minutes.

What exactly is a meeting? 🔗

Interestingly, the Companies Act, 2013, which governs how Indian companies function, does not lay down a formal definition of the word “meeting” anywhere in its sections. Instead, the meaning has developed through general business usage, textbook definitions, and judicial interpretation over the years, as explained in this detailed breakdown of company meetings.

In the simplest terms, a meeting is a gathering or assembly of two or more people who come together, either by prior notice or by mutual agreement, to discuss and transact some lawful business of common interest. This idea of a “gathering for transacting lawful business” appears consistently across academic sources, including this overview of company meetings and legal requirements, which frames it as people getting together for transacting any lawful business, entertainment, or similar purposes.

The legal angle: What courts have said 🔗

Since the law itself stays silent on a precise definition, courts have stepped in over time. In the well-known English case of Sharp v. Dawes (1971), a meeting was explained as an assembly of people gathered for a lawful purpose, or simply the coming together of at least two persons for any lawful purpose. This case is still referenced in Indian company law study material to explain the bare minimum requirement of a meeting: you cannot have a “meeting” of one person, no matter how important the discussion in your own head might feel.

Indian scholars have echoed this idea in their own words. According to author P.K. Ghosh, a meeting is any gathering, assembly, or coming together of two or more persons for the transaction of some lawful business of common concern, a definition widely used in commerce and secretarial practice courses across the country, as noted in the same legal explainer on company meetings.

Why do organisations actually hold meetings? 🔗

A meeting is never held just for the sake of it, at least not in a well-run organisation. Meetings exist because certain kinds of decisions and discussions genuinely need multiple people in the same room (or the same video call) at the same time. Broadly, meetings serve five overlapping purposes.

Exchange of ideas 🔗

Meetings give people a structured space to share information, perspectives, and updates. A sales team meeting where regional managers report on performance, or a class group discussing a project, both fall under this category. The point is simple: some information flows better when it is discussed live rather than sent as a one-way email or memo.

Discussion of common problems 🔗

When an issue affects a group rather than a single individual, it usually needs a joint discussion. A department facing a budget shortfall, or a housing society dealing with maintenance disputes, calls a meeting because the problem belongs to everyone involved, and the solution needs everyone’s input.

Decision-making on action programmes 🔗

Meetings are often the formal setting where an organisation decides what to actually do next. A marketing team deciding on a campaign launch date, or a college committee finalising the schedule for an annual fest, are both examples of meetings driving concrete action.

Policy formulation 🔗

At a more senior level, meetings are where broader rules and policies get shaped. A company’s board might meet to decide on a new leave policy, a pricing strategy, or a code of conduct. These decisions usually require input from multiple stakeholders before being finalised.

Legislative and statutory activities 🔗

Certain meetings exist purely because the law requires them. Under the Companies Act, 2013, companies must hold specific meetings, such as the Annual General Meeting, to approve accounts, appoint auditors, and pass resolutions. These are not optional discussions; they are legal obligations built into how companies are governed, as covered in this guide to types of meetings in company law.

The essence of a meeting: Lawful business of common interest 🔗

Strip away all the formal language, and a meeting really comes down to one core idea: it is the transaction of any lawful business that involves a common interest among the people present. Two important words in that sentence do a lot of work.

The first is lawful. A gathering of people planning something illegal is not, in any legal or academic sense, a “meeting” in the way this term is used in business and company law. The activity being discussed has to be legally permissible.

The second is common interest. A meeting is not just any collection of people in a room; the individuals present must share some stake in the outcome. Shareholders attending a company’s general meeting all have a financial interest in decisions being made. Employees attending a departmental meeting share an interest in how their work is organised. Without this shared stake, you simply have people occupying the same physical or virtual space, not a meeting in the functional sense.

What separates a meeting from a casual gathering? 🔗

Not every time people talk business counts as a formal meeting, especially in the context of company law and secretarial practice. A few characteristics typically distinguish a genuine meeting from an informal chat.

Minimum of two persons 🔗

A meeting cannot be constituted by a single person. The word itself implies coming together, which by definition requires at least two participants.

Proper convening authority 🔗

In formal organisational contexts, a meeting usually needs to be called by someone with the authority to do so, such as the Board of Directors for a company’s general meeting. A random informal huddle, however useful, does not carry the same legal weight, as explained in this overview of the requisites of a valid meeting.

Notice and agenda 🔗

Formal meetings are typically preceded by a notice informing participants of the date, time, venue, and matters to be discussed. This ensures everyone attends prepared, and it protects the legitimacy of decisions taken.

Records of proceedings 🔗

Once a meeting is validly held, what gets discussed and decided is usually documented. For companies, minutes of meetings are a statutory requirement, and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India has issued Secretarial Standards under Section 118(10) of the Companies Act, 2013, to standardise how such meetings and their records are handled, as outlined in this summary of ICSI Secretarial Standards. This is one reason secretarial practice, as a subject, spends so much time on the procedural side of meetings once the basic definition is clear.

A defined and lawful purpose 🔗

Finally, a meeting has a purpose that participants are aware of in advance. Even a general discussion meeting usually has broad objectives stated at the outset, which is part of why the agenda plays such a central role in how organisations run these sessions, as detailed in this university study material on company meetings.

Why this definition matters for secretarial practice 🔗

Understanding what qualifies as a meeting is not just an academic exercise. It has real consequences. If a gathering does not meet the basic requirements of a valid meeting, such as proper notice or an appropriate convening authority, any decisions taken there can be legally challenged. This is precisely why office management and secretarial practice, as a subject, builds so heavily on this foundational definition before moving into the specifics of notices, quorum, resolutions, and minutes. Getting the basics right at this stage makes every subsequent topic far easier to follow.

What do you think? Have you ever attended a college or workplace gathering that was called a “meeting” but, based on what you have just read, might not have actually qualified as one? What do you think was missing?

References

1. https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-1133-company-meeting-meaning-characteristics-and-kinds.html
2. https://www.taxmann.com/post/blog/company-meetings
3. https://blog.ipleaders.in/types-of-meetings-in-company-law/
4. https://lawbhoomi.com/requisites-of-a-valid-meeting/
5. https://www.pw.live/cs/exams/icsi-secretarial-standards-and-revisions
6. https://gyansanchay.csjmu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/company-meetings-CSJM.pdf