Court orders respondent to pay Rs. 5,93,700 under Companies Act. Defense rejected, ruling in favor of Company-in-liquidation.

The Court partially allowed the application under section 446(2)(b) of the Companies Act, 1956, directing the respondent to pay Rs. 5,93,700 along with interest at 6% per annum from 3-11-2006. The respondent's defense of having paid a substantial amount was not substantiated with concrete evidence, resulting in the Court rejecting their claim and ruling in favor of the Company-in-liquidation for the majority of the outstanding amount.

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Issues:
Claim for due payment under Companies Act, 1956 - Respondent's defense on payment made - Examination of evidence and documents - Decision on the application for payment.

Analysis:
The application under section 446(2)(b) of the Companies Act, 1956 was filed by the Company-in-liquidation seeking a decree against the respondent for Rs. 4,05,000 and interest at 18% p.a. from 7-11-2003. The respondent contended that as per a memorandum of understanding, they had already paid Rs. 3,03,697 out of Rs. 6,58,697 due to the Company-in-liquidation, and sought time to pay the balance in monthly installments. The Official Liquidator presented evidence, while the respondent did not produce any witnesses or documents initially.

The Court closed the evidence of the respondent and allowed them to produce certificates related to the encashment of Demand Drafts. The Court noted that the respondent had the burden of proving the payment of Rs. 2,73,697 out of the total due amount. However, in the absence of substantial legal evidence of such payment, the defense of the respondent was deemed unacceptable. The Court acknowledged the encashment of Rs. 10,000 each by way of cheques on specific dates, which were deducted from the claimed amount.

Ultimately, the Court allowed the application in part, directing the respondent to pay Rs. 5,93,700 along with interest at 6% per annum from 3-11-2006 until the date of payment. The decision was based on the lack of concrete evidence supporting the respondent's claim of having paid a significant portion of the due amount, leading to a partial acceptance of the application for payment by the Company-in-liquidation.

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