Section 630 company property recovery extends to legal heirs continuing wrongful possession after an employee's death.

Proceedings under section 630 of the Companies Act, 1956 are maintainable against the legal heirs of a deceased employee or officer when they continue to withhold company property. The provision was applied purposively as a beneficent remedy intended to protect company assets and secure speedy recovery from wrongful retention. The right to occupy or retain allotted company property was treated as co-terminous with employment and as ending on cessation of service, including death. Legal heirs and representatives claiming through the deceased derive no independent entitlement from the company and cannot resist recovery on that basis.

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Issues: Whether proceedings under section 630 of the Companies Act, 1956 are maintainable against the legal heirs of a deceased employee or officer for retrieval of the company's property.

Analysis: Section 630 is a beneficent provision enacted to protect company property and provide speedy relief against wrongful withholding. The expression "officer or employee" was construed broadly in earlier decisions to include past officers and employees, and the same purposive approach was applied here. The right to retain allotted company property is co-terminous with employment and ends on cessation of service, including death. Legal heirs and representatives continuing in occupation derive no independent right from the company and merely hold through the deceased employee or officer. A restrictive construction would defeat the object of the provision and permit evasion of the company's right to recover its property.

Conclusion: Proceedings under section 630 are maintainable against the legal heirs of a deceased employee or officer when they continue to wrongfully withhold the company's property.

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