U P UNION BANK LTD Vs. AKHTAR HUSSAIN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The U. P. Union Bank Ltd. having its Head Office at Utraula was compul-sorily wound up under the Indian Companies Act by an order of this Court dated 16-12-1949. The application for winding up had been filed on 13-9-1949.

(2.) One Ali Ahmad Jaffri had deposited a sum of Rs. 10,000 as a fixed deposit in the Delhi Branch of the Bank. The fixed deposit matured on 1-3-1948. On maturity, however, Ali Ahmad Jaffri did not get the amount paid to him and, after several attempts for its realization had failed, he came to the Head Office at Utraula and approached Akhtar Husain Eizvi who was the General Manager of the Bank and his brother Mehdi Hasan who was the Chief Secretary. The General Manager and the Chief Secretary', it is said, assured Ali Ahmad Jaffri that payment would be made, and ultimately on 11-7-1949 they issued thirteen demand drafts on the Allahabad Branch of the Bank. When Ali Ahmad Jaffri presented these drafts at the Allahabad Branch the Branch was not able to pay the amount and asked Ali Ahmad Jaffri to come again. It was after 1-8-1949 that three of the demand drafts were met but the other ten remained unpaid.

(3.) On 8-11-1949 AH Ahmad Jaffri filed a complaint in the Court of the City Magistrate at Allahabad which was thereafter transferred to the court of the Special Magistrate against Akhtar Husain Rizvi and Mehdi Hasan under Sections 406 and 420, Penal Code. The complaint was that they had dishonestly misappropriated his money and thereby committed an offence under Section 406 and that they had further fraudulently or dishonestly induced him to part with money or agree to the retention of his money and had thereby committed an offence under Section 420, Penal Code. On behalf of the accused an objection was taken that by reason of Section 3 of the Ordinance No. XXIII, of 1949, published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, dated 19-9-1949, the case stood transferred to the High Court which was seized of the winding up case and the learned Magistrate had no jurisdiction. A reference was made by the Magistrate to this Court, and the learned Company Judge on 25-10-1950, referred the matter to a Bench for decision. The point for decision, therefore, is whether the complaint which was filed before the City Magistrate on 8-11-1949 during the pendency of the winding up proceedings in this Court which had commenced on 13-9-1949, stood transferred to this Court under Section 3 of the Ordinance which has now been replaced by the Banking Companies (Amendment) Act No. XX of 1950. Section 3 of the Ordinance which is now Section 11 of the Act is as follows :