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@article{210597,
        author = {GUNJAN KISHORBHAI KOTECHA and Dr. Riddhi Sanghvi},
        title = {Voting Without Attending: Shareholder Activism Through E-Voting at Electronic Annual General Meetings of Large Listed Companies in India},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {6},
        pages = {1717-1726},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=210597},
        abstract = {Are Indian shareholders only investors seeking returns, or do they also take part in the decisions of their companies? This paper answers the question by combining a doctrinal study of Section 96 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the e-voting rules with the Regulation 44(3) voting results and scrutinizer reports of the 2026 annual general meetings (AGMs) of 14 of the top 30 BSE-listed companies, covering 110 resolutions. Only 5,099 members, or 0.023 per cent of shareholders, attended the AGMs, yet 85 per cent of shares were voted on an average resolution. Almost all votes were cast through remote e-voting before the meeting; votes cast at the meeting (insta poll) were only 0.013 per cent. Institutions voted about 91 per cent of their shares, non-institutional shareholders about 21 per cent. Every resolution was passed, but dissent was concentrated on director appointments, especially at central public sector enterprises, where institutions cast a median of 25.7 per cent of their votes against. Shareholder activism in India is therefore institutional and is exercised through remote e-voting, while the AGM has become a place of disclosure rather than decision. The paper suggests uniform disclosure of attendance data, removal or modification of the member-count quorum, and a stronger question process at e-AGMs.},
        keywords = {Annual general meeting, corporate governance, E-voting, Insta poll, Quorum, Shareholder activism.},
        month = {November},
        }