ASHISH GUPTA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This hearing has been held through video conferencing.

(2.) The Petitioner - Mr. Ashish Gupta is a director in three companies namely (i) Delhi Control Devices Private Limited (hereinafter, "DCDPL") (ii) ABMR Tradex Private Limited (hereinafter, "ABMR"), & (iii) DCD Grand Power India Private Limited (hereinafter, "DCD Grand"). He has been disqualified as a director under Section 164 of the Companies Act, 2013 (hereinafter the "Act") with effect from 1st November 2017, due to the alleged non-compliance by DCDPL in filing its returns from 2014-2017. The Directors Identification Number (hereinafter, 'DIN') and Digital Signature Certificate (hereinafter, 'DSC') of the Petitioner have also been frozen, though the name of the company, DCDPL has not been struck off and it continues to be an active company.

(3.) The prayers in the writ petition are that the publication of the name of the Petitioner in the list of disqualified directors ought to be set aside and quashed and that the Petitioner should not be treated as a disqualified director under Section 164 of the Act. Mr. Nikhil Verma, ld. counsel for the Petitioner, relies upon the judgment of this Court in Mukut Pathak & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors., 2019 265 DLT 506, to argue that in so far as two of the Companies i.e. ABMR and DCD Grand are concerned, in terms of paragraph 98 of Mukut Pathak (supra), the Petitioner would not demit their office. In so far as DCDPL is concerned, since this is the defaulting company, they would also be permitted to continue as directors and file their records with the Registrar of Companies (hereinafter, "ROC"). Ld. counsel relies upon the Companies Fresh Start Scheme (CFSS) 2020 (hereinafter, "Scheme") dated 30th March, 2020 introduced by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to argue that under the Scheme, if the defaulting company is active, the ROC has permitted the defaulting company to file its documents.