Bona fide disputed debt defeats winding up petition where the company is financially sound and not commercially insolvent.

A creditor's winding up petition cannot be used to enforce a debt that is bona fide disputed, because mere non-payment does not by itself trigger the statutory presumption of inability to pay. Where the record shows a genuine dispute over mutual adjustments and liability for rent under the parties' arrangements, the claim requires adjudication outside winding up proceedings. The company's financial statements also showed profitability and substantial assets, negativing any inference of commercial insolvency. The petition was therefore not maintainable as a debt-enforcement device, and no ground for winding up was made out.

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Issues: Whether a creditor's winding up petition could be maintained when the claimed debt was bona fide disputed and the company was shown to be financially sound.

Analysis: A winding up petition is not a substitute for adjudication of a genuinely disputed claim. Where the materials on record disclose a bona fide dispute regarding the debt, the statutory presumption of inability to pay does not arise from mere non-payment. The dispute here related to adjustment of mutual claims and liability for rent under the parties' arrangements, which required determination of contractual rights and liabilities outside a winding up proceeding. The financial statements also indicated that the company was profitable and possessed substantial assets, negativing any inference of commercial insolvency.

Conclusion: The petition was not maintainable as a means to enforce a disputed debt, and no ground for winding up was made out.

Ratio Decidendi: A creditor's winding up petition cannot be used to enforce payment of a debt that is bona fide disputed, and in such a case the deeming fiction of inability to pay does not arise.

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