Foreign decree-based winding up petitions remain open to Section 13 objections and may be declined at admission.

A winding up petition may be founded on a foreign decree, but the Company Court need not treat that decree as an undisputed debt where the respondent raises recognised objections under Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure, including lack of jurisdiction, absence of merits adjudication, breach of natural justice, fraud, or a claim contrary to Indian law. Where the record shows serious doubt about service and the objections are not sham or frivolous, the petition is not fit for admission on the basis of the decree alone. Such disputes are better examined in execution proceedings, where evidence can be led if necessary.

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Issues: Whether a winding up petition founded on a foreign decree was maintainable when the respondent disputed the decree on the grounds of defective service, breach of natural justice, and alleged illegality of the underlying claim.

Analysis: A winding up petition can lie on the basis of a foreign decree, but the Company Court is not bound to proceed mechanically on the assumption that the decree represents an undisputed debt. The foreign judgment remains open to challenge on the grounds recognised in Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, including want of competent jurisdiction, absence of adjudication on merits, opposition to natural justice, fraud, and a claim founded on breach of Indian law. On the facts, the record raised serious doubt about due service: the contractual address and email details were not followed, service at the residential address was refused by a servant, and the email used was not shown to be authorised for acceptance of summons. The respondent's objections were therefore not sham or frivolous, and the dispute could not be treated as one fit for admission of the winding up petition. The Court held that such objections were better examined in execution proceedings, where evidence could be led if necessary.

Conclusion: The petition was not maintainable for admission on the basis of the foreign decree in the circumstances shown, and the petitioner was required to pursue execution proceedings.

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