Bona fide dispute in winding up fails where short-supply objections are belated, unsupported, and inconsistent with timely inspection duties.

A belated objection to alleged short supply, unsupported by any contemporaneous protest or correspondence and raised only through debit notes issued long after delivery, was held not to constitute a bona fide dispute. The purchaser had admitted the supply orders, invoices and substantial part-payments, and the limited warranty clause did not excuse the failure to inspect and object within a reasonable time under Sections 41, 42 and 63 of the Sale of Goods Act. The defence was treated as a mere ruse rather than a substantial dispute, so the debt was treated as prima facie established and the winding up petition was admitted.

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Issues: Whether the respondent's objection based on alleged short supply and debit notes created a bona fide dispute so as to defeat the winding up petition.

Analysis: The respondent admitted the supply orders, invoices and substantial part-payments, but sought to resist the petition by relying on debit notes raised long after the supplies and on a warranty clause. The absence of any contemporaneous protest or correspondence regarding short supply, the delayed issuance of debit notes, and the limited scope of the warranty clause undermined the defence. In the context of Sections 41, 42 and 63 of the Sale of Goods Act, the purchaser was required to inspect the goods and object within a reasonable time; a belated challenge raised after years of supplies could not be treated as a genuine dispute. The defence was therefore treated as a mere ruse and not a substantial or bona fide defence to the creditor's claim.

Conclusion: The objection of disputed debt was rejected, and the petition was admitted.

Final Conclusion: The respondent's liability was treated as prima facie established, and the creditor was entitled to pursue winding up proceedings, with further steps kept contingent on payment within the time granted.

Ratio Decidendi: A belated and unsupported objection to short supply, raised without contemporaneous protest and inconsistent with the purchaser's duty to inspect and object within a reasonable time, does not constitute a bona fide dispute capable of defeating a winding up petition.

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