MADAN DEBI KUNDALIA Vs. ALPINE DAIRY LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a winding-up petition presented on the 24th of January, 1980, and on the returnable date notice was directed to be served on the company to show cause why the winding-up petition should not be admitted. Thereafter, directions for filing affidavits were given. The company filed an affidavit and the petitioning-creditor also filed an affidavit-in-reply thereto.

(2.) The petitioning-creditors' claim is very simple and straight-forward for the price of goods sold and delivered pursuant to the orders placed by the company between February, 1978, to May, 1978. The petitioning-creditor has disclosed the bills and the receipted challans for such supplies and also various demand letters which were not replied to and ultimately, when the statutory notice was served through the advocate of the petitioning-creditor, being 7th of December, 1979, and after the presentation of the petition on the 24th of January, 1980, the alleged reply to the statutory notice dated 17th of January, 1980, was sent to the petitioning-creditors' advocate where for the first time certain disputes were sought to be raised without any reference to an alleged contract dated 13th of February, 1978, in any way whatsoever. The said reply to the statutory notice is annexe to the affidavit of Pradyut Kumar Banerjee, a director of the company, who has affirmed the affidavit on behalf of the company on the 19th of February, 1980. Along with the said affidavit, an alleged copy of the letter dated 13th of February, 1978, is annexed which is purported to record the agreement between the parties for the supply of a compressor and in the copy which is annexed there is nothing showing the receipt of the said letter by the petitioning-creditor and at the time of hearing, a copy was produced with an endorsement of one Mr. Bhati, who was the sales manager of the petitioning-creditor previously, but has left her a long time back and appears to have endorsed in the said copy the receipt of the same wrongly describing the name of the petitioning-creditor's firm and, on the face of it, it appears to be highly improbable, and a manufactured document on which the endorsement of the said Mr. Bhati was procured subsequent to the present application being moved. The petitioning-creditor being called upon to produce the original bill cover and challans, to which there is no serious denial but only allegations in the nature to raise only some suspicion and doubt. But, after looking into the documents that the same were issued by the defendant company in the usual course of its business, I am satisfied that the petitioning-creditor has duly supplied the goods to the defendant company which has been received by the company and the petitioning-creditor has also submitted the original bills with the receipted challans to the company and the bill covers show various bills which have been received by the company. The company's affidavit, particularly the allegations in para. 19, making highly defamatory allegations against the petitioner of forgery, dishonesty and commercial immorality, appears to, have been verified, as information received from Mr. Bhati, the Ex-Sales Manager of the petitioning-creditor firm, itself shows that the company's director, the said Mr, Pradyut Banerjee, is not only reckless but has no respect for the court and has procured the Ex-Sales Manager of the petitioning-creditor firm to create a forged document, being dated 13th of February, 1978, and to make highly defamatory statements in the affidavit as stated in para. 19 of the petition. I have no hesitation in holding that the company is a highly dishonest company which is lacking in commercial morality and after the present winding-up petition has been filed is trying to create documents and make reckless and defamatory allegations against the petitioning-creditor which are not only highly improbable but also unacceptable to any court of law. It has been made only to weave a cobweb and create a cloud as to the main issue, if possible, by raising suspicion and surmise in the mind of the court.

(3.) Mr. S.K. Kapoor, appearing with Mr. M.L. Jain, for the petitioning-creditor placed all the necessary documents and produced the original receipted challans and the bill cover showing the receipt of the bills and, in my view, has clearly proved beyond doubt the legitimate claim of the petitioning-creditor and established the absurdity of the nature of defence sought to be raised from the Bar by creating documents after the presentation of the winding-up petition by the petitioning-creditor.