Bye-laws & Rules and Regulations of The Press Club, Mumbai, were amended at a Special General Meeting (SGM) held on June 30, 2006. As was decided at the SGM, the amended bye-laws & Rules and Regulations come into immediate effect.

Bye-laws of THE PRESS CLUB, MUMBAI

Article 1: The name of the institution is The Press Club, Mumbai. The registered office of the Club is situated at Glass House, Azad Maidan, Mahapalika Marg, Mumbai 400 001. The Club will serve journalists working and/or living in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Article 2: The official year of the Club shall be the financial year, i.e., from 1st April to 31st March.

Aims and objects
Article 3:
The aims and objects of the Club are:

A. To provide members means of professional, educational, social, cultural and recreational activities and to establish, maintain and conduct a Club for the use and benefit of members, their families and guests, and maintain a Club house.

B. To open and maintain Club branches in more than one location within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

C. To provide, as may be feasible and convenient, facilities such as reading room and library for the use of members.

D. To establish and/or support institutions and activities designed for training of working journalists and advancement of their professional skill and equipment.

E. To provide wherever feasible and in the general interest of the members, assistance in support of the BrihanMumbai Union of Journalists, the Founder of the Club, and other organizations of working journalists.

F. To provide, to the extent feasible, facilities for holding press conferences, meetings, symposia and activities of professional interest.

G. To purchase, hire, make, provide or maintain and/or dispose of all kinds of furniture, utensils, glassware, linen, books, papers, periodicals, stationery, cards, games and other material required for the functioning of the Club.

H. To make, buy, prepare, supply and sell all kinds of provisions and refreshments as may be required, and generally to carry on the business of a hotel, restaurant, cafe, tavern, refreshment room or a lodging house, for the benefit and convenience of the members, their families and guests.

I. To purchase, take on lease or in exchange or otherwise acquire land, building or property movable or immovable, for the Club and to sell any of its acquisition.

J. To promote and/or finance on its own or in co-operation with other institutions project for the education and training of journalists, by way of grants, awards, scholarships and such other means.

K. To provide relief to ordinary and honorary members and/or their families in indigent circumstances.

L. To provide to the extent feasible and at reasonable charges temporary lodging and allied facilities for visiting journalists.

M. To carry on all such other lawful activities as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objects.

Rules and regulations
Preliminary

Article 1: The Press Club, Mumbai, is established for the purpose and object expressed in the Bye-laws under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and shall be governed by a Managing Committee constituted in accordance with these articles.

Article 2: Membership of the Club shall consist of the following categories of persons working in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for:

A.Ordinary members

B.Associate members

C.Corporate members

D.Institutional members

E.Service members

F.Casual members

G.Honorary members

Article 2 - A Ordinary members: The following persons are eligible to be considered for admission as ordinary members of the Club:

1. A working journalist (including persons in positions such as artist, librarian, photographer, calligrapher, index assistants), hereafter referred to as ‘journalist’, who is employed in a news agency, registered newspaper or magazine/periodical – excluding house magazines, annuals, directories, casual and festival publications.

OR

A journalist employed by internet news and feature companies or electronic news media, including radio and television channels – including a person in a position such as news TV cameraperson, producer, etc., who is engaged in the collection, analysis and dissemination of news or in the production of news and news-based programmes and current affairs programmes.

PROVIDED

That he/she has a minimum of three years' prior experience as a journalist and that he/she depends upon such employment as the main source of livelihood – a prerequisite for a person to become an ordinary member. A journalist who has been a member of the Club and has been in the profession for more than 15 years in journalism, and has not joined any other career line or continues to write on a freelance basis, has the option to remain as an ordinary member with voting rights, provided such a person does not fall into any other category of Club membership that might attract higher fees or levies.

2. Criteria for admission:

A. The application for ordinary membership shall contain, inter alia, the following information about the applicant: length of service in the profession, age, job description, membership period before application (in case of application for re-entry to the Club), and an undertaking to strictly adhere to the rules and regulations of the Club and not to bring the Club into disrepute;

B. The application will be accompanied by proof of employment.

C. In keeping with the limited physical facilities available in the Club and consequent constraint for space, admission to the category of ordinary membership shall be restricted to 100 new members or 10 per cent of the existing total membership in a particular year, whichever is lower. Replacement of such of those members, whose names are struck off from the club membership rolls after September 30 every year for non-payment of annual subscription or due to other reasons specified in Article 7 viz., termination of membership, shall not be covered by the above-mentioned restriction clause.

D. If the documents submitted by an applicant are found to be dubious, false or bogus, the proposer and seconder of the applicant shall be liable to a penalty that may involve a maximum suspension from membership for a period of six months, and/or a fine of up to Rs.2,500 and/or disbarment from the right to propose or second any new applicant.

E. An ordinary member, against whom disciplinary action is taken, shall ipso facto stand debarred from contesting elections. Nor shall he/she be entitled even to propose or second any other member of the Club as a candidate for elections for a minimum period of three years.

F. Admission fees and annual subscription fees for ordinary members shall be fixed by the managing committee from time to time. The fees will be payable in advance. New members shall pay subscription for the full year irrespective of their date of admission.

Non-voting members B

(i) Associate members - category - I

A person who is working as a public relations manager/officer in a public sector company or in a company listed on any stock exchange in India or registered with a chamber of commerce and industry; or a person working in a nationalised bank or co-operative bank who is associated with the press in the discharge of his/her normal function, will be eligible to be an associate member of the Club provided his/her membership is sponsored and paid for by his/her employer.

ii. Associate member – category – II

Any person working as a communication/public relations manager / representative of a functioning public relations company or recognised advertising agency, manager in the advertising/public relations department of recognised print, internet and electronic media if sponsored by the employer as well as self-employed advertising consultants, is eligible for admission to this category.

iii. Admission fees for associate membership shall be Rs.10,000 (rupees ten thousand) and annual subscription Rs.10,000 (rupees ten thousand), payable in advance. New members shall pay the subscription for the full year. The managing committee may, from time to time, revise the fees in view of the requirements of the Club. In the event of the associate member concerned changing the job, he/she can carry forward his/her membership to his/her new organisation, provided his/her previous employer has no objection.

iv. Application for associate membership made in the prescribed form shall be considered by the Managing Committee. The number of members to be admitted from each Corporate or Government Body shall be determined by their importance, size and turnover but not exceeding three from one organisation.

v. The Managing Committee shall, on the basis of existing vacancies and the capacity of the Club to provide optimum services, determine the number of associate members to be admitted. Further provided that at no stage, the total number of associate members admitted shall exceed 25 percent of the total number of ordinary members.

2-C Corporate members:

This category of non-voting membership will be open to public and private limited companies with a turnover of Rs.10 crore and above. The admission fee for corporate members shall be Rs.2 lakh. A corporate member shall be entitled to nominate a maximum of two representatives and will have to pay an annual subscription fee of Rs. 6,000 for each representative, which will be payable for the full year in which such application is made. Corporate members will have the option of replacing or withdrawing their representatives by intimating the Club in writing. The managing committee may, from time to time, revise the fees in view of the requirements of the Club. The monies raised by way of the admission fees charged to corporate members shall be set aside as a separate bank deposit. The Managing Committee shall have powers to utilise only the interest arising out of the above bank deposit for development activities. However, should such an extraordinary situation arise where a part of or the entire principal amount from the deposit money sought to be utilised, it shall be mandatory for the Managing Committee to seek prior approval of the General body, after providing item-wise details and justifying such expenditure. Such expenditure shall be utilised specifically for development purposes only. Companies giving sponsorship money to the Club for specific purposes shall not be accorded corporate memberships in return.

2-D Corporate life members:

Private limited or public limited companies will be eligible for corporate life membership upon payment of Rs.5 lakh (rupees five lakh). A corporate life member shall have the right to nominate two representatives on an annual basis, and shall also have the option of replacing or withdrawing its representatives by intimating the Club in writing. No annual subscription shall be levied on corporate life members.

2-E Institutional members:

This category of membership will be open to professional institutions and associations of professionals in areas such as information technology, engineering, medicine, architecture and accounting. Each such organisation may nominate up to two representatives each. The admission fee shall be Rs. 15,000 (rupees twenty thousand) and annual membership fee Rs. 3,000 (rupees three thousand) per representative.

2-F Service members:

As per the understanding between the Press Club, Mumbai, and the Maharashtra government, one senior official of the state government’s information and publicity department will be given membership ex officio without any charge. The public relations officers of the central government and of other state governments and local bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region are eligible to become service members. Such members will have to pay an admission fee of Rs.3,000 and an annual subscription of Rs.1,500, payable in advance in April every year, irrespective of the date of admission. The managing committee may, from time to time, revise the fees in view of the requirements of the Club.

2-G Casual members:

Any full-time journalist visiting Mumbai may enrol himself/herself as a casual member of the Club for a period not exceeding 15 days at any time, without paying subscription. Such member may enjoy the facilities of the Club as a member but shall not entertain guests. This facility will be available only to such journalists as are members of other press Clubs in India or abroad that have similar reciprocal arrangements for members of the Press Club, Mumbai.

2-H Honorary members:

Notwithstanding any other provisions in the rules and regulations of the Club, the membership review committee shall admit a journalist who has been an ordinary member of the Club for 10 years and who has retired on superannuation, as an honorary member. Such honorary members will have the right to avail themselves of all the facilities of the Club.

Article 3:

The General Body may, from time to time determine or vary the admission fees and subscriptions for membership and shall if necessary, freeze admission to any category.

Article 4:

The Managing Committee shall determine, from time to time, the fee as well as the rules and conditions regarding entertainment of guests and other facilities open to members.

Article 4 (a): Members are entitled to bring along with them their spouse, and children who are financially dependent on them, to the Club and enjoy all the facilities of the Club. The Club shall not charge them any guest fee.

Article 5:

Voting rights: Only an ordinary member has the right to vote at every General Body Meeting provided he/she is not in arrears of subscription for current year. However he/she shall be entitled to voting right only after one year as ordinary member.

Article 6:

Membership review committee:

A. The general body at its annual general body meeting shall elect and constitute a membership review committee consisting of five senior members who have put in more than 15 years in professional journalism and not less than 10 years as ordinary member of the Club. From among the five membership review committee members, one shall be from the electronic media. This committee shall function for a term of two years and it shall elect a convenor to conduct its deliberations. Every membership review committee shall thoroughly scrutinise applications for admission or readmission for ordinary membership and consider admission to honorary membership. The committee's findings shall be final. However, the managing committee may, if it deems it necessary, return the decision of the review committee for reconsideration. Applications for admission to all categories of membership except honorary membership shall be made in the prescribed form, duly proposed and seconded by ordinary members of the Club who are not in arrears of subscription or any other dues as on the date of application together with payment of admission fee as well as subscription, as applicable.

B. In the process of scrutinising applications for ordinary membership, the Membership Review Committee may interview the applicant/ proposer/ seconder for obtaining clarification of information stated in the application.

C. The membership review committee may in its discretion reject any application after assigning the reason(s) for such rejection in writing. In the event of applications being held over for lack of vacancies for the particular year, they may be taken up once again in the following year. The review committee shall strictly adhere to a first-come-first-serve rule with respect to all applications including those that have been carried forward from the previous year.

D. No member shall be absolved from the operation of the provisions of these articles as well as the by-laws of the Club.

Termination of membership Article 7:

A person shall cease to be a member of the Club on his or her

1. Resignation in writing after paying all dues

2. Being medically certified to be of unsound mind

3. Being declared a perennial defaulter i.e, in respect of payment of bar bills within six months of having incurred first such expense. The period of six months starts from the date of earliest pending bill.

4. Failure to pay the annual subscription fee of the Club within three months of the stipulated deadline and in any case not later than 30th September of the year to which the fees apply. Such a member may be re-enrolled as a fresh member in due course if he or she clears the dues and pays the prescribed admission fee as well as the current year's subscription, along with penalty of Rs.400.

5. Expulsion from the Club for disciplinary reasons.

6. If he or she has been convicted for a criminal offence.

Article 8:

If a member fails to continue to fulfil the qualifications necessary for a particular category of membership, he ceases to be a member of the Club. However, it shall be open for such person in appropriate circumstances, to become a member of the Club in a different category.

Article 9:

Members whose membership has been terminated as aforesaid shall be debarred from entry into the Club, and provided further that no existing member shall bring him to the Club as a guest, unless and until he/she clears all dues, including the penalty for default as imposed by Club rules.

Article 10:

A member, who is transferred from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region may intimate the membership review committee accordingly and resign his/her membership after settling all his/her dues. If he/she is transferred back to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, he/she shall be allowed to re-enrol as a member on making an application to the membership review committee stating the fact of re-transfer and providing evidence of his/her eligibility for the category of membership he/she wishes to be re-enrolled. Though exempted from paying admission fee, his/her application will have to be accompanied by the current year's subscription.

Article 10(a):

Members who have left the Mumbai Metropolitan Region on transfer or otherwise without intimating the Club shall be re-admitted on transferred back to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region as a journalist on payment of a penalty of Rs.400 or as prescribed by the membership review committee in addition to the usual admission fee and subscription fee as applicable. Further provided that the member concerned must provide adequate proof of continuation of his/her status as a journalist.

Article 11:

Disciplinary action:

A. The Managing Committee, by a resolution passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of its members present and voting, shall take appropriate disciplinary action as detailed below against any member/s for bringing the Club into disrepute or for any act, including violence, which endangers the harmony of the Club.

B. Such disciplinary action may, as the case warrants, consist of suspension for a period of not less than four months, or expulsion for a period of not more than six years but not less than three years. The procedure to be followed in this regard shall be as stated below.

C. The Secretary, after making preliminary inquiries into the alleged incident of misconduct on the part of a member, may, in consultation with the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman, suspend the member concerned for a period of 15 days initially.

D. In the notice of suspension the member will be called upon to explain his/her conduct within 7 (seven) days. After this period of Notice and before the expiry of the 15 days' period of suspension, the Managing Committee shall meet and consider the member's explanation, if any. If the explanation is considered satisfactory, there will be no further action. If, however, the explanation is considered not satisfactory, the committee shall hold a further detailed enquiry into the alleged incident before determining further action, which may be (a) treating the incident as closed or (b) issue a reprimand or warning or (c) suspension or (d) expulsion, provided that any decision for suspension or expulsion shall be taken by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Managing Committee present and voting, the result of voting being recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the committee at which the decision is taken.

E. The decision of the Managing Committee, so taken, shall be final and binding.

F. In taking action under any of the above sub-clauses of Article 11, every member of the Managing Committee is required to act, and shall be deemed to be acting, in good faith and in the best interests of the Club, and every member of the Club affected by the decisions of the committee is deemed to have absolved the members of the committee of any legal or any other liability arising from the decisions.

Article 12:

A. Any member so suspended shall not have the rights and privileges of membership of the Club, nor shall he/she be entitled to be a guest of any other member in the Club premises.

B. A member who is suspended shall, however, not be exempted from payment of his/her subscription to the Club for the period of suspension.

C. Any member who is expelled shall not have the rights or privileges of membership of the Club, nor shall he/she be entitled to be a guest of any other member until the period of his/her expulsion is over.

President and office-bearers

Article 13:

A. The President shall be the Chief Executive of the Club and the Office - Bearers shall consist of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Joint Secretary and the Treasurer.

B. The ordinary members shall elect directly President, the five office-bearers – Chairperson, Vice-chairperson, Secretary, joint secretary and treasurer -- and 10 members of the Managing Committee. The President, office bearers and 10 members of the Managing Committee will have a term of two years each. The elections shall be held once in every two years, along with the Annual General Meeting of the year in which elections are due.

C. No member, elected to the posts of President and other five office bearers, shall be entitled to hold the same office-bearers’ post for more than two consecutive terms.

D. The Club's elections shall be conducted as per the Election Rules provided in the Annexure-1.

Powers of the President

Article 14:

A. The President of the Club shall oversee the functioning of the Managing Committee and he shall exercise the powers vested in him as the head of the Club elected by the General Body, to evaluate the performance of the Managing Committee, guide it from time to time, intervene decisively where there is malfunctioning or where there can be a possible breakdown in the administration. Further provided that in such eventuality, he shall enlist the assistance of the Internal Auditor as provided in Article 30.

B. The President of the Club shall call a special general meeting of the Club on a requisition from not less than 20 per cent of the total ordinary members to discuss the acts of omission and commission of the Managing Committee which are in contravention of the articles provided herein or the Bye-laws or any other matter of vital interest to the Club. c. The President will preside over all General Body Meetings and official functions of the Club. In the absence of the President, the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson, at any General Meeting, the Members present shall elect any ordinary member from among themselves to preside over the meeting, provided that at such meetings no business other than the business mentioned in the notice of the meeting, shall be transacted.

Managing Committee

Article 15:

A. The day-to-day management of the Club shall be vested in the managing committee, which shall consist of the chairperson, vice chairperson, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer as well as 10 elected members, apart from co-opted members. The elected members shall elect and fill any vacancy which may arise later for the position of an office-bearer.

B. The managing committee, in any of its meetings after the first, may co-opt one members each from the category of associate members, Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh and the BrihanMumbai Union of Journalists, who may participate in the committee's deliberations but will not have right to vote.

Article 16:

The Chairperson and, in his or her absence, the Vice-Chairperson, and in their absence, a member chosen from other elected members of the Committee shall preside at the meeting of the Managing Committee.

Article 17:

The Managing Committee shall have powers

A. To meet all expenses legitimately incurred for and on behalf of the Club subject to the provisions of the relevant articles herein;

B. To buy current and capital assets for the Club and dispose of property in the general interest of the Club;

C. To engage, to fix or alter remuneration or dispose of the services of any staff or other persons as the committee deems fit from time to time.

Article 17:

(d): The Manager of the Club, appointed by the Managing Committee, shall attend to the day-to-day work of the Club and shall be responsible for executing the decisions of the Managing Committee as well as for the supervision of the Club employees, including the managerial staff, ensuring order and helping avoid untoward incidents or disturbance of peace on the Club premises.
Provided further that in the case of grave misconduct on the part of an inebriate member or their guest, the Manager shall report the matter to the Chairman/Secretary within 24 hours for immediate action by the Managing Committee and the Managing Committee will also be responsible for putting in place effective steps to protect the Manager and the staff from vindictive actions.

Article 17:

(e): The Committee shall see to it that the Manager of the Club is physically present on the Club premises during working hours unless he has urgent outdoor assignment.

Article 18:

The Managing Committee may, from time to time in furtherance of the objects of the Club:

A. Create and conduct any fresh activity in the fields of sports, entertainment, recreation and/or library and reading room, training or welfare activities for working journalists and their families and frame rules far the conduct of these activities:

B. Levy, if considered necessary, special fees for members taking advantage of such activities;

C. Delegate its powers for the conduct of these activities to one or more subcommittees from among its own members or special committees which may include members of the Club outside the membership of the Managing Committee. All such sub-committees and special committees shall be responsible to the Managing Committee.

Article 19:

The Managing Committee shall have the power to make such rules from time to time as it deems necessary for the conduct of the affairs of the Club and for giving effect to the resolutions of the Genera! Body Meetings, and to amend, rescind or add to any existing Rules, in so far as none of the Rules or amendments or additions thereto are not inconsistent with or contrary to the Bye-laws or any articles provided herein or to any resolution of the General Body or to any law for the time being in force.

Meeting of the Managing Committee

Article 20:

A. The Managing Committee shall meet at least once every month and seven members shall form the quorum for a meeting.

B. All questions before the managing committee shall be decided by a majority. Voting shall be by a show of hands and in case of a tie, the chairperson shall have a casting vote in addition to his vote as a member. In the chairperson’s absence no other presiding person will have such a casting vote. Co-opted members who are not ordinary members shall not have voting rights. In sensitive matters, any member expresses fear of intimidation in the event of his/her voting in a particular way, the Chair can exercise the option of having the voting done through a secret ballot. Members can abstain from voting if they so desire. For future records, it is but essential that the voting pattern is duly recorded in the minutes.

Article 21:

Casual vacancies in the Managing Committee except that of the Chairman, shall be filled by the committee through co-option from among members of the category to which the member whose seat has fallen vacant belongs. In the event of vacancy in the office of Chairman, one of the elected members of the committee shall be elected to that office and the consequential vacancy filled by co-option.

Article 22:

At the instance of, or in constitution with the Chairman, the Secretary and in his absence the Joint Secretary shall convene meetings of the committee as and when necessary. Members of the committee shall be given at least 72 hours' notice of a meeting of the committee. However, it is provided that in case of urgency the Secretary or Joint Secretary may, in consultation with the Chairman, call a meeting at shorter notice specifying the urgency of the matter to be discussed.

Article 23:

Any member of the Managing Committee not attending three consecutive meetings of the Committee without leave of absence, shall be deemed to have resigned his or her membership of the Committee.

Article 24:

The affairs of the Club shall be managed by the Managing Committee which may exercise all such powers of the Club as are not barred by the Societies Registration Act,1860 or by any statutory notifications thereof for the time being in force, or by the by-laws of the Press Club, Mumbai and the articles provided herein or are required to be exercised by the general body meeting, but no regulation made by the Club in a General Meeting shall invalidate any prior act of the Managing Committee which would have been valid had the regulation not been made.

Article 25:

Any action lawfully taken by the Managing Committee or the General Body in accordance with the articles provided herein and the Memorandum of the Club, in good faith, shall not be later disputed by any member of the Club on any ground whatsoever but shall be deemed to be an act of the Club.

Annual General Meeting Article 26 (A):

The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held every year on or before June 30, for transacting the following business:

A. To consider and, if found fit, to adopt the report of the managing committee for the previous year;

B. To consider and, if found fit, to adopt the audited statement of accounts of the Club for the previous year;

C. To appoint an internal auditor every year to assist and advise the president;

D. To appoint the statutory auditor for the following year and to fix his remuneration to transact other items on the agenda;

E. To appoint a five-person membership review committee every two years;

F. And to transact any other business with the consent of the chair.
However, in the year when the Annual General Meeting (AGM) is held along with elections to the posts of President, five office-bearers and 10 members to the managing committee, AGM shall be convened on a Friday and elections shall be held the next day i.e, Saturday. The elections shall be a part of that particular AGM, which will conclude after the one-point agenda – that is conducting and declaring results of elections to the above-mentioned posts.

Article 26 (B):

In exceptional circumstances, the managing committee may, by a two-thirds majority of its members present and voting, decide to postpone the AGM by a period not exceeding one month from June 30. In such an event, the election processes, as provided in the election rules, annexed hereto, shall be deemed to have been postponed for a similar period.

Article 27:

All matters including resolutions put to vote at any meeting of the General Body shall be decided by a show of hands, unless a poll is demanded by not less than 10 per cent of the members present, in which case the President shall order a division. In the event of a tie, the President shall have a casting vote in addition to his vote as a member.

Article 28:

Only ordinary members of the Club shall have the right to vote on matters before the General Body and such vote shall be cast in person.

Article 29:

A. The Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, as also the notice convening the meeting, shall be sent to all members so as to reach them 14 clear days before the date of the meeting

B. No such meeting shall, however, be invalidated on the ground that such notice or report not having been received by any member or members.

C. Notice of any resolution not related to the Managing Committee's Report and Statement of Accounts, to be moved at an Annual General Meeting, should reach the Secretary within one month of the close of the official year to enable the Committee to consider its inclusion in the Agenda and also form its own views on the subject matter of the resolution.

D. A resolution or proposition of an urgent nature may be allowed to be taken up at the meeting by the President with the consent of the members present.

E. One-third of the total ordinary membership of the Club shall form the quorum for all general body meetings.

F. If within half an hour after the appointed time for the annual general body meeting, there is no quorum, it shall be adjourned for a later hour on the same day and at the same place, as may have been specified in the notice and at such meeting, the business on the agenda shall be transacted whether there is quorum or not.

G. If all the business on the agenda of the General Meeting cannot be transacted on the day on which the meeting is held, the meeting shall be postponed to any other suitable day, not later than 21 days from the date of the meeting, as may be decided by the members present and voting.

H. The Committee shall finalise the draft minutes of every General Body Meeting within three months of the date of the meeting and circulate the draft minutes among all members within 15 days of the meeting of the Committee at which the draft minutes were finalised so as to enable the members to communicate their observations which may be incorporated on their merit in the final minutes, for adoption in the subsequent General Body Meeting.

Appointment of internal auditor

Article 30: The General Body at its Annual General Meeting shall elect as Internal Auditor of the Club, a senior member who has been a member for more than 10 years. He shall act as vigilance officer and the functioning of the Managing Committee shall be subject to his objective scrutiny. The Internal Auditor shall directly report to the President every three months on the performance of the Club. Further, the Internal Auditor shall present, if the situation demands, to the President an on-the-spot report on his own or at the behest of the President, if there is a likely breakdown in the Club administration or malfunctioning of the Managing Committee or any other development which necessitates the President's effective intervention.

Special General Meeting

Article 31:

A special general meeting of the Club may be called by the managing committee on its own or on a requisition from not less than 75 ordinary members of the Club, clearly stating the business proposed to be transacted. In the latter case, if the committee fails to convene a meeting within one month of the receipt of the requisition, the president shall call such a meeting.

Article 32:

At Special General Meeting called on requisition, no business can be transacted other than specified in the notice of the requisition.

Article 33:

In the case of a Special General Meeting called on requisition, if the requisite quorum of 30 members is not formed within 30 minutes after the time fixed for the meeting, the meeting shall be deemed to be dissolved without transacting any business.

Article 34:

In the event of a requisitioned meeting of the General Body being dissolved for want of quorum, no special General Meeting shall be called again within six months thereafter on a requisition on the same subject.

Article 35:

In the case of the Special General Meeting, the period of notice shall be seven clear days. No such meeting shall, however, be invalidated on the ground of the notice not having been received by any member or members.

Article 36:

a: Any subject on which a decision has been taken by a special general meeting shall not be brought up again in the same or any other form before an annual general meeting or special general meeting within six months of the decision, unless the first special general body meeting calls for such a discussion at a subsequent event within six months.

Article 36 b:

The president at a general meeting may adjourn it or postpone consideration of any business after taking the sense of the house.

Article 36 c:

A notice affixed on the notice board at the registered office of the Club shall be sufficient notice of an adjourned meeting.

Article 36 d:

The draft minutes of a special general body meeting shall be circulated within three months of that meeting. The same draft minutes shall be read out at the next general body meeting, excepting a requisitioned meeting.

Accounts

Article 37:

A. The accounting year of the Club shall be from April 1 to March 31.

B. The funds and moneys of the Club shall be deposited in one or more banks. The treasurer, the secretary and/or the chairman shall be responsible for safe custody of the cash balance which shall be, banked every next day. However, they may keep on hand an aggregate sum of Rs. 5,000/- to meet small expenses.

C. All assets of the Club including rights, title and interest, all investments, fixed deposits, bank accounts, securities, cash certificates and other documents shall stand in the name of the Club.

D. The surplus funds and moneys of the Club, in excess of its current working requirements and lying with current or savings bank accounts or otherwise shall be judiciously invested in such a manner as to earn good returns in fixed deposits with recognised commercial banks. The Club shall ensure that it maintains as few bank accounts as possible to ensure better monitoring of its financial assets and transactions.

E. All documents on behalf of the Club, including bank cheques, deposits, negotiable instruments and other bank documents as well as instruments of purchase, sale or redemption of securities or purchase, sale or transfer of property shall be signed, executed and/or discharged on behalf of the Club by the Treasurer jointly with the Chairperson or Secretary subject to the provisions herein-after stipulated with respect to fixed deposits, cash certificates and other long-term negotiable instruments.

F. In regard to fixed deposit accounts, cash certificates and other long-term negotiable instruments with banks, the Managing Committee will ensure through instructions to the banks, that except in the case of renewing maturing fixed deposits, the authorized signatories as provided in the sub-clause (e) above are not allowed to operate by way of termination, withdrawal, pledge, lien, or otherwise in any manner whatsoever secure loans against them or offer the same as collateral for any purpose, except on the strength of a specific resolution passed by the Managing Committee for loans up to Rs 5 lakh, and by the General Body in case the security is for loans exceeding Rs 5 lakhs. (Clause ‘ f ’ is amended at the AGM held on July 27, 2007)

G. The resolution provided under clause (f) above, shall be certified by any four of the elected members of the Committee other than the office-bearers. The specimen signatures of the elected members other than the office-bearers, shall be presented to the concerned banks soon after the first meeting of the Managing Committee following the annual elections for their records and verification as an when required.

H. It is provided that except in the case of renewing a maturing deposit, every document concerning the operation of a maturing deposit, every document concerning the operation of a fixed deposit account submitted to the relevant bank shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the resolution of the Managing Committee as provided in (f) above.

I. In respect of any expenditure exceeding Rs. five lakh for any programme or development, renovation or any other purpose, the managing committee must seek the sanction of the general body.

J. Funds received in respect of any sponsorship programmes or projects shall be promptly deposited in the Club's accounts and the Managing Committee shall ensure that the sub-committee in charge of such programme or projects render proper accounts of expenditure incurred thereunder in a stipulated time or in the same financial accounting year.

K. If circumstances demand, loans can be raised for specific development work being undertaken by the Club, provided that loans exceeding Rs 5 lakh should be approved by the General Body. (Amended at the AGM held on July 27, 2007)

Audit Article 38:

Auditors shall be appointed by the General Body of the Club at its Annual General Meeting with their remuneration fixed and their duties regulated in accordance with the Registration of Societies Act.

Inspection of documents

Article 39:

Any member wanting to inspect books of accounts, other relevant papers and documents relating to the finances and affairs of the Club can do so. If any member wanting a photocopy or extract of any document or any part of any document shall have to make a written submission to the manager of the club and the club will provide the copies of the document(s) requested for, after seven working days of the requisition and after payment of the photo-copying charges.

Amendments

Article 40:

No alteration or amendment of these articles or any addition there to or deletion there from, shall be made except by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting at a General Body Meeting duly convened with a notice of such alteration, amendment, addition or deletion.

Dissolution

Article 41:

A. The Club shall not be dissolved except by a vote in writing from not less than three-fourths of the total number of ordinary members on the roll at the time of proposing of the dissolution.

B. In the event of dissolution or closure of the Club, the procedure laid down by the Societies Registration Act, 1860, shall be followed.

C. The assets of the Club shall be indivisible so that in the event of dissolution, no member shall have any claim on them. The entire amount, if any, after meeting the Club's liabilities, shall be utilised of donated to one or more institutions or organisations engaged in the promotion of the interest of working journalists as determined by the General Body Meeting convened for such dissolution.

Article 42:

No member shall be absolved from the operation of the Bye-laws and Rules and Regulations in force on the plea of not having received a copy thereof.

ANNEXURE-1

ELECTIONS:

Rules And Regulations

1. The President, Chairperson, Vice-chairperson, Secretary, Joint Secretary, Treasurer and 10 members of the Managing Committee will have a term of two years. The elections to these posts, which will be held every alternate year, will be timed along with Annual General Meeting (AGM) of that particular year.

2. The process of the elections will start on the first working day of May, of that particular year.

3. On that day, the Managing Committee shall finalise the election schedule and appoint a Returning Officer and the Secretary shall place on the notice board at the registered Office of the Club, a notice announcing the election schedule and the name of the Returning Officer.

4. Along with the election notice, the Secretary shall place on the notice board a list of eligible voters, who have paid their subscription and other dues in full as on the first working day of May.

5. Members whose names are not in that list may pay up such arrears on or before 10th May, so as to get their names included in the voters’ list.

6. On 12th May, the Secretary shall place on notice board a supplementary list of members who have paid their subscription and cleared all other dues to the Club on or before May 10, and have in the process become eligible to vote.

7. Each nomination of those desirous of contesting the elections shall be duly proposed and seconded by ordinary members and signed by the candidate, all three of them being eligible to vote, provided further that only such persons as have been members for a continuous period of one year on the date of election, shall have the right to stand as a candidate or to propose or second a nomination.

8. Any member who, as on 10th May, is in arrears of current year subscription or other dues shall not be entitled to be a candidate or a proposer or a seconder in the election or to exercise his franchise.

9. Scrutiny of nominations shall take place at the time and place specified in the notice aforesaid, in the presence of ordinary members who desire to be present. The list of valid nominations with the signature of the Returning Officer, shall be placed on the notice board immediately after the scrutiny.

10. The final list of candidates shall be placed on the notice board by the Returning Officer after the immediately after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations as fixed in the election scheduled earlier, ends.

11. In the event of there being a larger number of candidates than the seats, an election shall be held by secret ballot, by way of single non-transferable vote on the date and the hours stipulated in the notice.

12. The ballot paper or papers, as the case may be, shall incorporate the names of all the candidates, surnames first, wherever applicable, in alphabetical order.

13. The members qualified to vote shall write a cross clearly against the name/s whom they wish to vote for.

14. A member may vote for fewer candidates than the number of stipulated seats (10) in the elections to posts of members in the Managing Committee. Any ballot paper, in which the member has voted for more candidates than the stipulated number of MC members’ seats, shall be treated as invalid.

15. Also, any ballot paper in which a cross in shown in such a way as to make the choice ambiguous shall be considered invalid. Mutilation of ballot paper, cancellation or scratching of vote shall render the ballot paper invalid.

16. The decision of the Returning Officer in regard to validity of a vote/ballot paper shall be final and binding.

17. The counting of votes shall commence immediately after the closure of voting. The President, at the request of the Returning Officer, may nominate two or more scrutinizers from among the members present, to assist the Returning Officer in the counting of votes.

18. As soon as the counting is over, the Returning Officer shall prepare the results, sign the results sheet and announce the poll outcome.

19. The results sheet and other poll-related documents signed by the Returning Officer shall then be kept in a sealed envelope and preserved together with the ballot papers in the ballot box, which shall remain sealed in the custody of the Managing Committee for a period of six months, and shall not be opened except in compliance with a Court Order.

ANNEXURE-2

GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPMENT / REFURBISHMENT OF THE PRESS CLUB

These guidelines have been prepared in the light of a resolution passed by the SGM on August 30, 2003 and are meant to be followed before undertaking any major development work in the club. They were adopted in toto in Special General Meeting held on March 24, 2006.

1. Once the architect is chosen by a sub-committee appointed by the Managing Committee (MC) after a screening/interviewing the desirous architects concerned, the Press Club asks the chosen architect to present a plan that suits its needs.

2. The presented design by the architect concerned shall be circulated among the press club. Suggestions shall be sought from the members on the designs proposed by the architect.

3. As per the Constitution of the Press Club, the General Body has the right to approve the cost-expenditure estimate of any major development work exceeding Rs one lakh undertaken at the Press Club. In case during execution it is found that the development is exceeding the sanctioned amount, it shall be mandatory for the incumbent managing committee to go back to the General body to seek necessary expenditure sanctions.

4. Soon after the General body accords its sanction for the development work proposals and the cost estimates, it shall be mandatory on the managing committee to appoint a sub-committee to supervise and ensure speedy completion of the project.

5. A separate fund shall be maintained to deal with all financial transactions arising out of the approved development work.

6. Contracts, be it civil works and interior designing-development work involving creative inputs, will be awarded only through transparent and competitive bids. Bids for these contracts / works should be invited publicly by advertisements inserted in at least two major publications. To ensure an efficient selection process, the Managing Committee will have the option of putting the contractors through an initial pre-selection round (technical bids) to short-list a set of suitable contractors who will then be invited to tender for the contracts (financial bids).

7. Contractors will be required to submit their quotations in sealed envelopes based on the project details handed to them. The quotations mean that contractors concerned shall have to submit Bill of Quantities (BOQ) as prepared by the appointed architect. It shall be ensured that the contractors applying for the Press Club work / contracts have no immediate family relations with the appointed architect.

8. The sealed quotations shall be opened in the presence of the managing committee. Normally the lowest tender should be awarded the contract, but in case the Managing Committee decides to award it to someone else, it should record its reasons in writing in detail for doing so. Besides the price quoted the Managing Committee should also consider the quality of work of the applicants, the resource-delivery levels, and the experience of the contractors bidding for the work.

9. It will be open for the Managing Committee to negotiate with the best bidders to get the most affordable price for the Press Club.

10. The Managing Committee shall have the option of procuring material required for the development work through sponsorship or hand over the entire work to a sponsoring construction company, if any, that comes forward to undertake the development work free of cost.

11. The contractor thus appointed shall have to give a suitable bank guarantee to the Press Club that he will complete the work in a period specified in the contract. This is essential to ensure that there is no cost escalation during the period of development.