IN RE: ELEGANZA FURNISHINGS P. LTD. Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Company Application is for direction to the Official Liquidator to vacate and/or shift goods and materials of the Respondent Company, if any, lying in, Gala No.17, Building No. A9, Harihar Corporation, Village Dapode, Bhiwandi, Dist. Thane and to handover physical and vacant possession of the premises to the Applicant. The Applicant is the owner of the premises. Under an agreement of leave and licence dated 30 July 2014, the Applicant gave the premises on licence to the Respondent Company. The licence period was three years from 1 August 2014 to 31 July 2017. The licence fee was Rs.24,425/ per month. The Respondent Company kept a deposit of Rs.72,675/ with the Applicant as and by way of security deposit for fulfillment of the terms and conditions of the licence agreement. It is the Applicant's case that the Official Liquidator, who is in possession of the premises as a liquidator of the Respondent Company, does not require the premises for beneficial winding up and should be asked to handover vacant and peaceful possession thereof to the Applicant after removing the goods, if any, lying within the premises.

(2.) The Official Liquidator has filed a reply to the Company Application submitting inter alia that the Official Liquidator may either dispose of the movables lying in the premises by public auction or, in the alternative, shift the furniture, fixtures and records lying within the premises to another property of the Company in liquidation, which is already in possession of the Official Liquidator.

(3.) The only debatable question is of payment of licence fees to the Applicant. Learned Counsel for the petitioning creditor opposes the Applicant's prayer for payment of arrears of licence fee. He submits that as far as the arrears are concerned, the Applicant, as unpaid licensor of the Company in liquidation, is really in the position of an unsecured creditor and cannot get any priority in payment over the secured creditors and workmen. Learned Counsel relies upon the judgments of the Supreme Court in the case of Official Liquidator of High Court of Karnataka Vs. Smt. V. Lakshmikutty, 1981 3 SCC 32 and of the Delhi High Court in Amersey Industries & Exports Vs. CRB Capital Markets Ltd.,2004 2 ILR(Del) 782 in support of his submissions.