OFFICIAL LIQUIDATOR Vs. VED PARKASH GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE company was ordered to be wound up on May 22, 1990. The statement of affairs of the company was filed on May 2, 1991. The official liquidator has sought the prosecution of the directors of the company under Section 454 (5) of the Companies Act for their non-filing the statement of affairs of the company within the statutory period of limitation of 21 days from the date of winding up order.

(2.) THE charge sheet was read out to the respondents and they have denied the same.

(3.) I have gone through the oral evidence as well as the documents produced on record by the parties. Reading the statements of CW-1, V. K. Verma, and RW-2, Jia Lal, as well as a perusal of the notice dated May 25, 1990, for filing the statement of affairs of the company, it emerges that the notice, exhibit P-1, was served on the directors of the respondent-company. The respondents have denied the receipt of notice, but the statement of CW-1, V. K. Verma, official liquidator, who proved the signatures of the respondents on the A. D. , receipts, exhibits CW-1/2 to CW-1/6, with regard to the receipt of registered envelopes, amply establishes the receipt of the aforesaid notices. Moreover, the signatures on the receipts have not been denied by the respondents. No other evidence has been led, except mere denial by the respondent of the receipt of notices. No other document said to have been received by post under the said A. D. receipts was produced nor any evidence was led to prove the receipt of any other document under the postal receipts produced and proved by the petitioners. It would be reasonable to infer beyond doubt that notices were served on the respondents with respect to the filing of the statement of affairs of the company on May 25, 1990. The respondents themselves have proved exhibit R-1. The documents shown in the said inventory were handed over to the official liquidator at Chandigarh, on December 20, 1990. Exhibit R-3 is another list of books of record handed over by one Jia Lal (RW-2) on March 7, 1991. Undisputedly some statement of affairs of the company was filed on May 2, 1991. It is only on March 7, 1991, that the said Jia Lal informed the official liquidator that one car owned by the company worth about Rs. 75,000 was forcibly taken away by the Punjab Concast Steel Ltd. , Focal Point, Ludhiana, in the year 1988. Though the car is owned by the company, no steps are taken by the directors to recover back the same nor was it intimated to the official liquidator. There is no dispute that the statement of affairs of the company was not filed till May 2, 1991. The only argument advanced by learned counsel for the respondents is that it is a case of delayed filing of the statement of affairs of the company. In defence, it was put forth that the official liquidator did not supply the prescribed forms nor any notice was issued by him. It was further stated by the respondents that the official liquidator sealed the office, including the account books. It is only on making available the account books by the official liquidator to the respondents that the balance-sheet was drawn probably in December, 1990, and filed. It was stated that the winding up order was not in the knowledge of the directors. No inventory was prepared at the time the official liquidator sealed the premises.