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Compulsory winding up of a company, maintainability of a winding-up petition in a different court while a similar petition is pending in another court. Comprehensive Analysis: The judgment involves a Letters Patent appeal concerning the compulsory winding up of a company called the Karnal Distillery Company Limited. The dispute arose among the shareholders, leading to the removal of the appellant from the office of the chairman. The appellant filed a winding-up petition in the Lahore High Court, which was still pending. Subsequently, a similar petition was filed in the High Court at Punjab, leading to the current legal proceedings. The main issue addressed in the judgment was the maintainability of the winding-up petition in the Punjab High Court while a similar petition was pending in the Lahore High Court. The learned Judge in the Punjab High Court dismissed the petition, citing that it was substantially identical to the pending Lahore petition and that the second petitioner was included merely to give semblance to the new petition. Furthermore, the Judge questioned the credibility of the creditor's claim and noted that an offer had been made to deposit the claimed amount in court. The appellant argued that the present petition contained new allegations and events that occurred after the Lahore petition, justifying a winding-up order based on these facts. The appellant contended that the Lahore High Court's jurisdiction did not preclude the Punjab High Court from hearing a fresh petition on the same matter. The appellant highlighted that there was no legal bar to maintaining multiple identical suits in different courts of concurrent jurisdiction. The judgment extensively analyzed the legal provisions under the High Courts (Punjab) Order, 1947, and concluded that the Lahore High Court's jurisdiction did not prevent the Punjab High Court from hearing a fresh winding-up petition. The judgment emphasized that the responsibility for deciding disputes concerning Indian companies rested with the Punjab High Court post-partition. It underscored that seeking relief in the Punjab High Court should not be denied without substantial grounds, especially when effective relief could only be obtained from that court. The judgment referenced English cases to support the argument that the mere existence of a pending petition in another court does not automatically bar a fresh petition on the same matter. It highlighted that each petition should be considered on its own merits, and there was no established rule limiting the number of petitions for winding up a company. The judgment concluded that the appellant's petition was maintainable in the Punjab High Court, overturning the previous dismissal by the single Judge. In conclusion, the appeal was allowed, setting aside the previous order of dismissal. The judgment emphasized the importance of providing effective relief to parties seeking redressal and clarified that the existence of a pending petition in another court did not preclude the appellant from filing a fresh petition in the Punjab High Court.
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