PHOENIX ARC PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. GOL OFFSHORE LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this Company Application filed under Section 457(3) and Section 460(6) of the Companies Act, 1956, the applicant seeks an order and direction against the official liquidator to reimburse the claim of the applicant for an amount of Rs.62,65,898/- towards liquidation expenses of vessels/tugs of the respondent company in liquidation rejected by the official liquidator out of the total claim of Rs.1,06,46,193/- in Official Liquidator's Report No. 141 of 2018. Some of the relevant facts for the purpose of deciding this Company Application are as under :-

(2.) Some time in the year 2014, Export Import Bank of India filed a Company Petition No. 756 of 2014 inter-alia praying for winding up of the respondent company. On 5th May, 2017, this Court admitted the said company petition and restrained the respondent from alienating, transferring, disposing off its assets in any manner whatsoever and appointed a provisional liquidator to take possession of the assets of the respondent. By an order dated 4th December, 2017 passed by this Court, the respondent was directed to be wound up and the official liquidator was directed to take charge of the assets of the respondent.

(3.) The applicant filed Company Application No. 171 of 2018, Company Application No. 170 of 2018 and Company Application No. 127 of 2018 for the sale of certain vessels/tugs of the respondent exclusively mortgaged to the applicant. It is the case of the applicant that when such applications were made by the applicant, neither the applicant nor the official liquidator was in a physical possession of the of the vessels in respect of which those Company Applications were filed. By orders dated 14 th February, 2018, 14th March, 2018, 28th March, 2018 and 4th April, 2018, the vessels/tugs of the respondent mortgaged to the applicant were sold to respective purchasers.