Sec 2 (52) of co. act 2013

This subclause lays down the definition of a 'listed company' which reads as: "listed company means a company which has any of its securities listed on any recognised stock Exchange". "Securities Contracts Regulation act provides that Securities means: Shares, scrips, stocks, bonds, debentures, debenture stock or other marketable securities of a like nature in or of any incorporated company or other body corporate. So, any company having any of theabove securities listed on any recognized Stock Exchange is a 'Listed Company'.

In the new Companies Act, the word 'public' has been removed from the definition of a 'listed company', which implies that now a private company may also be categorized under a 'listed company'. We may tend to apply the situation conceived in the CA 1956, but a provision of law must be first interpreted using the Literal Rule of Interpretation, which is the foremost rule of interpretation. Further, I think that unless and until it is proved that the change of the definition from "listed public company" to "listed company"  and the removal of the word "public" in the definition is only cosmetic and that it was not the intention of the legislation, and until a clarification or a ruling comes out, we have to go by the strict interpretation.