Ex parte interim order set aside for want of notice and hearing, with company petition remanded for fresh consideration.

An ex parte interim order was set aside because it was passed without notice to the opposite party and without a reasonable opportunity of hearing, contrary to the procedural requirements reflected in Section 420 of the Companies Act, 2013 and Rule 37 of the NCLT Rules, 2016. The appellate tribunal did not examine the merits of the company petition or the parties' rival claims on maintainability, and held that the matter had to be reconsidered afresh after completion of pleadings and hearing both sides. The company petition was remanded for de novo consideration, with liberty to raise all factual and legal pleas.

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Issues: Whether the ex parte interim order passed by the Tribunal was liable to be set aside and the matter remitted for fresh consideration in view of absence of notice and opportunity of hearing.

Analysis: The appeal was considered without entering into the merits of the company petition or the parties' rival claims on maintainability. The impugned interim order had been passed ex parte. The order was found to have been made without issuing notice to the opposite party and without affording a reasonable opportunity of hearing, contrary to the requirements reflected in Section 420 of the Companies Act, 2013 and Rule 37 of the NCLT Rules, 2016. In those circumstances, the order could not be sustained and the matter required reconsideration afresh after completion of pleadings and hearing both sides.

Conclusion: The ex parte interim order was set aside and the matter was remanded for de novo consideration, with liberty to the parties to raise all factual and legal pleas before the Tribunal.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded on the procedural defect of denial of hearing, and the underlying company petition was directed to be decided afresh by the Tribunal uninfluenced by the observations in the appeal.

Ratio Decidendi: An ex parte interim order passed without notice and without affording a reasonable opportunity of hearing, in breach of the statutory requirements governing adjudication, is liable to be set aside and the matter remitted for fresh decision.

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