Statutory bar under sick company law applies only to claims included in a sanctioned rehabilitation scheme, not to every suit.

Section 22(1) of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 suspends proceedings only when an inquiry is pending, a scheme is under preparation or implementation, or an appeal is pending, and its protection is not automatic for every claim against a sick company. The embargo applies only to liabilities reckoned or included in a sanctioned rehabilitation scheme. In the absence of documentary proof that any scheme had been sanctioned or that arrears of damages and mesne profits were included, a suit for possession, damages and mesne profits was outside the statutory bar and could proceed.

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Issues: Whether a suit for possession, damages and mesne profits was barred by section 22(1) of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 in the absence of proof that the claim formed part of a sanctioned rehabilitation scheme.

Analysis: Section 22(1) suspends certain proceedings only where an inquiry is pending, a scheme is under preparation or implementation, or an appeal is pending, and the protection is not automatic for every claim against a sick company. The Court applied the principle that the embargo under the provision extends only to dues which are reckoned or included in the sanctioned scheme. On the facts, no documentary material showed that any scheme had been sanctioned or that the arrears of damages and mesne profits were included in it. The suit for possession was outside the scope of the statutory bar, and the claim for mesne profits and damages also could not be stayed in the absence of inclusion in the scheme.

Conclusion: Section 22(1) did not bar the suit for possession, damages and mesne profits, and the petition was liable to fail.

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