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Issues:
1. Deduction of amount for late delivery of fabricated vehicles 2. Withholding payment under instructions from the Income-tax Department 3. Granting of interest at a higher rate than claimed in the petition 4. Maintainability of the petition due to arbitration clause 5. Limitation period of the petition 6. Relief sought by the parties Analysis: The judgment pertains to a case where Maruti Ltd. (in liquidation) filed a suit under the Companies Act, 1956, seeking recovery of a principal amount and interest from the appellants. The company judge initially decreed the recovery of Rs. 61,542 with 15% per annum interest. The appellants contested the claim, leading to the framing of various issues. Under issue No. 1, the court held that the appellants were not entitled to deduct any amount for late delivery of fabricated vehicles, deeming the penalty clause as illegal and unenforceable. Issues 2, 5, and 6 were also decided against the appellants, affirming the company's entitlement to the claimed amount and interest. Issue No. 3 dealt with the interest rate, where the court found the company entitled to 15% per annum interest on the admitted amount. Moving on to the arguments presented, the court addressed each issue in detail. Regarding issue No. 1, the court affirmed that the penalty clause for late delivery was indeed penal and could not be enforced unless actual damages were proven. Issue No. 2 focused on withholding payment under Income-tax Department instructions, with the court ruling that the appellants could not withhold the amount due to the company without evidence of payment to the tax department. Issue No. 3 involved the interest rate discrepancy, where the court modified the judgment to grant interest at the claimed rate of 12% per annum, not the higher rate of 15% awarded by the company judge. The court referred to Section 34 of the Code of Civil Procedure to justify the modification of the interest rate, emphasizing that the discretion to grant interest must align with the relief claimed in the petition. The judgment partially allowed the appeal, modifying the interest rate to 12% per annum as claimed by Maruti Limited, along with the decree for the principal amount. The court concluded by stating that there would be no order as to costs, effectively resolving the issues raised in the appeal.
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