2013 (2) TMI 419 - HC - Companies Law

Winding up petition and to appoint the official liquidator - Held that - It is found from the order sheet that the respondent himself has admitted the debt and he filed memo and further his memo again reflected in the joint memo filed and based on the post dated cheques issued in terms of the memo/joint memo, the petition was closed. The post dated cheques came to be dishonoured. Hence, it is a fit case to allow the petition & respondent company is ordered to be wound up - petitioner directed to communicate the order to the ROC within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of copy of this order. The Official Liquidator is appointed - petitioner is directed to deposit a sum of Rs. 15,000 to the Official Liquidator within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of copy of this order to meet the initial expenses to initiate winding up proceedings.

Summary

Issues:
Petition filed under section 433(e) of the Companies Act for winding up the respondent company and appointing the official liquidator.

Analysis:
The petitioner company, engaged in making labels as per customers' specifications, delivered goods worth Rs. 1045,671 to the respondent company, which were accepted but not paid for. Despite repeated requests for payment, the respondent delayed and issued dishonored cheques, leading to criminal cases under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. A statutory notice was served, and the respondent initially promised partial payment but failed to fulfill the commitment, resulting in the restoration of the company petition.

The respondent's counsel filed a memo for retirement, which was rejected by the court. The court noted that the respondent had admitted the debt, and based on joint memos and post-dated cheques, the petition was previously closed. However, as the post-dated cheques were dishonored, the court found it appropriate to allow the petition for winding up the respondent company.

Accordingly, the court allowed the petition, ordering the winding up of the respondent company. The petitioner was directed to inform the Registrar of Companies within 15 days and deposit Rs. 15,000 with the Official Liquidator for initial winding up expenses within four weeks from receiving the order copy.