SONE VANASPATI LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner No.1 is a Joint Sector Undertaking being Public Limited Company registered under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, whereas Petitioner No. 2 is one of the Directors of the said Company.

(2.) This writ petition has been filed by the Petitioners challenging the entire proceeding of Certificate Case No. 2076 of 2001 which was initiated against the Petitioners for recovery of Rs. 12,90,317.00 and also challenging warrant of arrest issued against Petitioner No. 2 in the aforesaid case.

(3.) The Petitioners have challenged the said proceeding on the ground that there was a labour unrest in the Petitioner-company which was declared sick and for its liquidation Company Petition No. 6 of 2009 was filed by the Petitioners and winding up order was passed and Official Liquidator was appointed for the company who submitted his report on 5.7.2010 annexing the statement of affairs, whereafter by order dated 9.7.2010 (Annexure-A series), the High Court of Jharkhand at Ranchi appointed valuer and directed the Official Liquidator to invite claims for sale of the assets of the company by public notice in the newspaper. He thus claimed that once a company is declared sick under the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as 'SICA' for the sake of brevity), no proceeding for realisation of any amount from the company can be initiated without taking recourse to the said law. In this connection, he relied upon Section 32 of the SICA in which it has been provided that the provision of the Act and of any Rules and scheme made thereunder shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law except the provision of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 and Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976. He also relied upon a decision of the Apex Court in case of Bharat Singh & Ors. v. State of Haryana and Ors., 1988 AIR(SC) 2181 as well as a decision of Division Bench of this High Court in case of Kanhaiya Lal v. The State of Bihar & Ors., 2002 2 PLJR 553.