CASE LAW:
The aforesaid statutory provisions for the protection of minorities have been supplemented by judicial intervention in a variety of cases which are generally explained under the following major headings:
Fraud on the Minority
Professor Gower, writing on fraud on the minority, has stated:
".......the exact meaning of the expression 'fraud on the minority' is not easy to determine. But at least it is clear that both 'fraud' and "minority" are used somewhat loosely. There need not be any actual deceit; if there were, those on whom it was practiced would have a common law remedy against those who had wilfully deceived them. "Fraud" here connotes an abuse of power analogous to its meaning in a court of equity to describe a misuse of a fiduciary position. Nor is it necessary that those who are injured should be a minority; indeed, the injured party will normally be the company itself, though sometimes those who have really suffered will be a class or section of members, not necessarily a numerical minority, who are outvoted by the controllers. It covers certain "acts of a fraudulent character"- in the wider sense just described - of which "familiar examples are when the majority are endeavoring directly or indirectly to appropriate to themselves money, property or advantages that belong to the company or in which the other shareholders are entitled to participate".