SCANOMAX INDIA LTD. Vs. PSIDC

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE official liquidator has filed this application for confirmation of the sale of the movable and immovable properties of M/s. Scanomax India Ltd., a company under liquidation, in favour of M/s. International Fresh Farm Products (India) Ltd., Mohali (respondent No. 4 herein) who is the highest bidder in the sale conducted by the sale committee constituted by this court.

(2.) VIDE order dated February 21, 1997, passed by this court in C.P. No. 7 of 1996, M/s. Scanomax India Ltd., was ordered to be wound up and official liquidator attached to this court was appointed as its liquidator. Subsequently, the movable and immovable properties of the company under liquidation were sold by the official liquidator in a public auction for Rs. 2.50 crores, but the sale was not confirmed by this court vide order dated September 21, 2006, passed in C.A. No. 591 of 2006. While passing the said order, this court constituted a sale committee under the chairmanship of Shri I.P. Singh, advocate of this court with the representatives of the secured creditors and official liquidator as its members. The said sale committee in its meeting dated October 18, 2006, decided to get fresh valuation of the assets/properties of the company under liquidation. The said valuation was got conducted from M/s. NITCON, a Government enterprise through Punjab Financial Corporation, one of the secured creditors. After receiving the said valuation report by the chairman of the sale committee, the said valuation report was made available to all the members of the sale committee including all the secured creditors in the meeting dated March 12, 2007. According to the said report, the distress value of the assets of the company under liquidation, which was to be sold, was assessed at Rs. 402.14 lakhs. All the secured creditors were satisfied with said valuation report and no objection was raised to the same by any of the members of the sale committee, including representatives of the secured creditors. Thereafter, wide publicity was given by the sale committee regarding auction of the assets of the company under liquidation by publishing sale notice in the The Tribune (Chandigarh edition), Punjab Kesari, Jalandhar, The Economic Times (Delhi edition) and The Economic Times (Chandigarh edition) and the date of opening the tenders was fixed on April 24, 2007.

(3.) WITHIN 15 days, all the secured creditors, including PSIDC, intimated in writing to the official liquidator that the highest bid given by International Fresh Farm Products (I) Ltd., (respondent No. 4 herein) has been accepted by the competent authority. The letter given by PSIDC to the official liquidator is dated May 4, 2007, which has been annexed with this application as annexure A6. After receiving the intimation from all the secured creditors, the official liquidator accepted 25 per cent, of the bid amount paid by respondent No. 4 towards the sale consideration. When all the formalities were completed, the official liquidator filed the instant application for confirmation of the sale.