Winding up claims must be routed through the official liquidator; a pending suit cannot defeat recovery of an admitted debt.

After a winding up order, a pending suit against the company cannot continue without leave of the Court under section 446(1) of the Companies Act, 1956, and any claim against the company in liquidation must be lodged before the official liquidator for scrutiny and adjudication before recovery. The respondent produced no reply or material to support an asserted cross-claim, so it could not rely on an unproven pending suit to resist payment of the admitted trade debt shown in the statement of affairs. The application by the official liquidator for recovery was maintainable and was allowed, with recovery of the debt, interest, and costs.

---

---

Issues: Whether the respondent, in the face of a pending suit and the company's winding up, was bound to pay the admitted debt due to the company in liquidation and whether such claim had to be routed through the official liquidator.

Analysis: The application was moved by the official liquidator for recovery of a trade debt shown in the statement of affairs. The respondent did not file any reply despite repeated and did not place material to substantiate its assertion of a cross-claim. The Court held that after a winding up order, a pending suit against the company cannot proceed except with leave of the Court under section 446(1) of the Companies Act, 1956. It further held that any claim against the company in liquidation must be lodged before the official liquidator, scrutinised and adjudicated in accordance with law before it can be treated as recoverable.

Conclusion: The respondent could not refuse payment of the company's debt on the basis of an unproven pending suit, and the application for recovery was maintainable and deserved to be allowed.

Final Conclusion: The official liquidator was entitled to recover the debt with interest and costs from the respondent.

Ratio Decidendi: After a winding up order, a pending suit against the company cannot be proceeded with without leave of the Court, and claims concerning the company in liquidation must be presented to and adjudicated by the official liquidator before recovery.

---