Mandatory affidavit and stamping requirements can make an amalgamation application non-maintainable if not properly complied with.

An application for amalgamation seeking dispensation of meetings under section 230(9) was held non-compliant because the supporting affidavits were executed on plain paper instead of bearing the stamp duty required for an affidavit, and no affidavit verifying the contents of the application was annexed as required by Rule 33(4) of the NCLT Rules, 2016. The Tribunal treated these affidavit and stamping requirements as mandatory procedural conditions and held that failure to comply rendered the application not maintainable in the form filed, leading to dismissal.

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Issues: Whether the joint application for amalgamation was liable to be dismissed for want of a properly stamped affidavit and for failure to annex the affidavit verifying the contents of the application.

Analysis: The application sought dispensation of meetings under section 230(9) of the Companies Act, 2013 and relied upon consent affidavits. The affidavits were found to have been executed on plain paper, whereas Article 4 of Schedule I to the Indian Stamps Act, 1899 required an affidavit to bear the prescribed stamp duty. The Tribunal also noted that Rule 33(4) of the National Company Law Tribunal Rules, 2016 required every petition or application to be verified by an affidavit in the prescribed form, and no such verifying affidavit had been annexed. On that basis, the application was treated as non-compliant with the mandatory procedural requirements.

Conclusion: The application was not maintainable in its filed form and was dismissed for non-compliance with the mandatory affidavit and stamping requirements.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statute and tribunal rules require an application to be supported by a properly stamped and duly verifying affidavit, non-compliance with those mandatory requirements renders the application liable to dismissal.

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