BANK OF INDIA Vs. METALFABS INDIA LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By means of this petition filed under Sec. 433(e) and (f), read with sections 434 and 439 of the Companies Act, 1956 the Bank of India (Petitioner in short) has prayed for the winding up of the company Metalfabs India (P.) Ltd., having its registered office at Barnawa Road, near City Railway Station, Meerut, on the ground that the said company was unable to pay its debts and, therefore, the same should be wound up.

(2.) The relevant facts in brief are that on the request of the respondent-company, the petitioner had sanctioned various borrowing facilities to the said company including cash credit-hypothecation/pledge as well as the loan amount totalling to Rs. 33 lakhs. The respondent-company to secure the said loan had executed the necessary documents including the hypothecatiop deed and the deed of guarantee. The respondent-company defaulted in paying its dues and ultimately an amount of Rs. 59,42,319.40 remained outstanding against them. The petitioner served a statutory notice of demand dated 3-5-1980 which was duly received by the respondent-company. Despite the same, the respondent-company did not pay the amount which necessitated the filing of the present winding-up petition. Along with the petition, the petitioner has annexed a letter from the respondent-company dated 3-7-1979 (Annexure-3) in which the said respondent has admitted the outstandings as on 22-6-1979 at Rs. 54.84 lakhs.

(3.) On notice being served, the company had put in appearance and filed a counter affidavit but the debt was not seriously disputed. The petition remained pending in this Court for several years and ultimately the same was listed for hearing before me on 9-5-1997 on which date a statement was made by Shri P.K Jain, the learned counsel appearing for the respondent-company that both the directors namely, S.K. Garg and Ved Prakash are dead and according to his instructions, the company is lying closed for the last over ten years and is not functioning. In view of the said statement, this court on 9-5-1997 directed that the petition be advertised under rule 24 of the Companies (Court) Rules, 1959. The office has reported the notices have been duly published in the two newspapers and the official gazette.