9911796707
TMI Blog1983 (12) TMI 241X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , chief executive of the said company; and O. P. No. 3949 of 1982 is by Sri. M. Velayudhan, the managing director of the said company. Copies of the summons under section 209A of the Companies Act, 1956 (the Act), dated November 30,1981, addressed to the petitioner in O. P. No. 77 of 1982, the second petitioner in O. P. No. 3949 of 1982 and the petitioner in O. P. No. 7197 of 1981 (the appellant in W. A. No. 51 of 1982), were respectively marked as Exts. P-1, P-14 and P-15 in the set of documents produced in O. P. No. 77 of 1982. In O. P. No. 3949 of 1982, the summons addressed to the second petitioner therein is marked exhibit P-1 ; and the summons addressed to the petitioner in O. P. No. 7197 of 1981 (the appellant in W. A. No. 51 of 19 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ou are hereby required personally to attend at the office of the Regional Director, Company Law Board, Southern Region, Shastri Bhavan, Block IV, 2nd floor, 35, Haddows Road, Madras 600 006, on the fourteenth day of December, 1981, at eleven O' clock a.m. to produce either personally or through an authorised representative the books of account or other documents specified overleaf and not to depart until you receive my permission to do so. If you intentionally fail to so attend and produce the books of account or documents, a fine up to Rs. 500 may be imposed upon you." On behalf of the petitioners, various contentions including the vires of section 209A of the Act have been raised. The plea that investigation undertaken by the Board, und ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rnment as may be authorised by the Central Government in this behalf : Provided that such inspection may be made without giving any previous notice to the company or any officer thereof. (2) It shall be the duty of every director, other officer or employee of the company to produce to the person making inspection under sub-section (1), all such books of account and other books and papers of the company in his custody or control and to furnish him with any statement, information or explanation relating to the affairs of the company as the said person may require of him within such time and at such place as he may specify. (3) It shall also be the duty of every director, other officer or employee of the company to give to the person mak ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o intended to inspect the books, that the inspection had to be done without the aid of books of account which might be rather impracticable, if not impossible. We, however, find considerable force in the argument advanced by Sri Venugopal that the principles of ejusdem generis have to be applied in deciding the question as to the type of books and documents the inspecting officers are entitled to inspect. In other words, the documents and papers referred to in sub-section (1) of the section must be those which have the character of books of account. The submission that in the guise of carrying out an inspection of books of account and other books and papers, the inspecting authorities cannot make a roving enquiry into all the affairs of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and documents other than those mentioned in clause (2) above, they would seek appropriate directions from the company court. (4)The question whether the petitioner company would be within its right to seek privilege on the ground that it is beyond the scope of inspection under section 209A and would trespass into the arena of investigation under section 237 of the Act, would have to be considered on the facts and circumstances of the case ; and no particular direction in that behalf is issued in this judgment. (5)After inspection of books of account and other books and papers as contemplated by sub-section (1) of the section, if the respondents require any statement, information or explanation relating to the affairs of the company from ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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