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2012 (2) TMI 240 - HC - Companies LawPeriod of Limitation Petition filed u/s 433(e) & 433(f) of Companies Act, 1956 seeking to wind up the Respondent-Company non-payment of salary of the petitioner (part-time employee) for period March 2002 to June 2002 Held that - Period of limitation for claiming salary is 3 years and u/s 18 of Limitation Act, acknowledgment of liability should be before the expiry of period of limitation. In present case, limitation starts from 1.7.2002 and ends on 30.06.2005. However, the first letter had been addressed on 22.9.2007 which itself is beyond the period of said three years. Therefore, documents of alleged acknowledgment of liability dated 25.09.07 onwards produced do not constitute an acknowledgment of liability. Hence, no debt is enforceable against the Respondent and consequently no ground u/s 433 of the Companies Act, 1956 Decided against the petitioner.
Issues:
Company Petition under Section 433(e) & 433(f) of the Companies Act, 1956 seeking to wind up the Respondent-Company. Claim of unpaid dues by the petitioner for services rendered as an employee. Contention of the respondent on the claim being time-barred. Alleged admission of liability by the Managing Director of the Respondent-Company. Interpretation of the Limitation Act for acknowledging liability. Petitioner's failure to prove enforceable debt against the Respondent-Company. Analysis: The petitioner filed a Company Petition seeking to wind up the Respondent-Company under Section 433(e) & 433(f) of the Companies Act, 1956, claiming unpaid dues for services rendered as an employee. The petitioner alleged non-payment for a specific period and a consultation fee, totaling Rs. 57,400 after receiving an initial sum of Rs. 12,500. The Respondent-Company contended that the claim was time-barred. The petitioner relied on alleged admissions of liability by the Managing Director of the Respondent-Company to support the claim. The Court analyzed the Limitation Act to determine the validity of the petitioner's claim. It was established that the last amount due fell in June 2002, initiating the limitation period from July 2002. As per the Act, the limitation for claiming salary is 3 years, ending on June 30, 2005. Section 18 of the Limitation Act requires an acknowledgment of liability within the limitation period. The alleged acknowledgments produced by the petitioner post-dated the limitation period, starting from September 2007, failing to constitute a valid acknowledgment of liability. Consequently, the Court held that the petitioner failed to prove an enforceable debt against the Respondent-Company due to the lack of a valid acknowledgment of liability within the limitation period. As a result, the Company Petition was dismissed, and the application for the appointment of a Provisional Liquidator was also dismissed as infructuous. The judgment emphasized the importance of complying with statutory limitations and requirements for acknowledging liability in legal proceedings under the Companies Act, 1956.
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