P L NARASIMHALU Vs. ASSISTANT REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner/3rd accused has filed the above Criminal Original Petition to call for the records in E.O.C.C.No,36 of 2007 pending on the file of Learned Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Economic Offences (E.O-II), Egmore, Chennai, Chennai District and quash the same.

(2.) THE prosecution case is that the Respondent/Complainant filed the complaint against 6 accused persons on an alleged offence under Section 159 r/w Section 162 of the Companies Act, 1956. THE complainant has stated that the accused 2 to 6 are the Directors/Managing Director/Whole Time Director/Company Secretary and officers of the company, when the offence was committed as per the particulars filed in the office of the complainant and their officers, who is in default within the meaning of section 5 of the Act. According to the provisions of Section 220 of the Act, the company and its Directors are under statutory obligation to file with the complainant Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account in the prescribed form duly placed in the Annual General Meeting within 30 days from the said date ie., on or before 30.10.2006, and in case no annual general meeting was held within thirty days of the due date of annual general meeting.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the petitioner, in support of his case has cited a Judgment of Madras High Court reported in 1976 Company Cases Vol.46, (T. Morari -vs- State (Mad.)). After hearing the arguments advanced by the learned counsels for their respective parties and considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the Court is of the view that the petitioner/accused person resigned his post from the company on 30.04.1994. THE same was accepted by the company on 02.05.1994. THE same was informed to the complainant on 04.08.2000 and again on 17.01.2007, by the petitioner. As such, the petitioner has no connection with the company affairs, particularly, the affairs during financial year 2005-2006. THErefore, the petitioner is not liable to face the criminal proceedings in E.O.C.C.No,36 of 2007 on the file of Chief Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Chennai. Accordingly, the quash petition has to be allowed against the petitioner/accused No,3 alone. Hence, the Criminal Original Petition No. 23685 of 2007 is allowed. Consequently, connected Miscellaneous Petition is not necessary, hence closed.