OFFICIAL LIQUIDATOR Vs. SURJIT SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition has been filed under Section 454(5) of the Companies Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), read with Rule 125 of the Companies (Court) Rules, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as "the Rules"), with a prayer that the accused -respondents be summoned and directed to prepare, verify and submit the statement of affairs, in duplicate, in the prescribed Form No. 57 together with an affidavit in Form No. 58 and further that they be tried and sentenced for violating the provisions of Section 454 of the Act. This petition arises out of the following facts:

(2.) ON April 3, 1987, Company Petition No. 49 of 1987 was filed under Section 433 read with Section 434 of the Act on the ground that the company in liquidation was unable to pay its due debts. The company in liquidation was ordered to be wound up on July 15, 1988. The official liquidator attached to this court was appointed as the liquidator of the company. The official liquidator took over the charge as liquidator on August 3, 1988. On August 29, 1988, the official liquidator wrote letter, annexure P -1, to the ex -directors of the company in liquidation, i.e., Sarvshri Surjit Singh, R.R. Chawla and S.P. Bansal, respondents Nos. 1 to 3, respectively, for filing of the statement of affairs. Since no statement of affairs was filed, the present petition has been filed for the reliefs sought or referred to in the opening paragraph of this judgment.

(3.) THE official liquidator produced two witnesses, namely, H.S. Bawa, CW -1, the official liquidator attached to this court and Joginder Pal Singh, CW -2, clerk from the office of the Registrar of Companies, Jalandhar. As against this, the accused stepped into the witness box, Surjit Singh as DW -1, R.R. Chawla as DW -2 and S. P. Bansal as DW -3.