Lack of review jurisdiction and police-assisted enforcement of vehicle custody directions in liquidation proceedings

The Tribunal held that no review power was conferred under the Companies Act, the Companies Rules, or the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, so the aggrieved party should have pursued an appeal instead of review. It further treated the earlier direction for handing over custody of the vehicle as continuing because there was no stay or compliance, and invoked Section 429 of the Companies Act, 2013 to enable enforcement. The Liquidator was authorised to seek police assistance from the Commissioner of Police having jurisdiction to trace and take custody of the vehicle, and the review application was dismissed as misconceived.

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Issues: Whether the review application against the earlier order was maintainable before the Tribunal, and whether the earlier direction for handing over custody of the vehicle required enforcement through police assistance.

Analysis: The Tribunal held that no review power had been conferred on it under the Companies Act, the Company Rules, or the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and that an aggrieved party ought to have pursued an appeal before the appellate forum instead of seeking review. Since the earlier order had neither been stayed nor complied with, the Tribunal treated the non-compliance as continuing. For effective implementation of the earlier direction, the Tribunal invoked Section 429 of the Companies Act, 2013 and directed the Liquidator to seek assistance from the Commissioner of Police within whose jurisdiction the company was situated to trace and take custody of the vehicle.

Conclusion: The review application was dismissed as misconceived, and the Liquidator was authorised to obtain police assistance for locating and taking custody of the vehicle.

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