Winding Up Petition Transfer to NCLT Allowed Before Any Irreversible Step in Company Court Proceedings

A winding up petition admitted by the Company Court may still be transferred to the NCLT if no winding up order has been passed and no provisional liquidator has been appointed. The controlling principle is whether the proceedings have reached an irreversible stage; if they have not, the clock can be set back and the matter may continue under the insolvency framework. Applying that principle, the petition was held transferable to the NCLT, Ahmedabad Bench, which was directed to proceed from the stage at which the matter stood transferred.

---

---

Issues: Whether a company petition for winding up, after admission but before any order of winding up or appointment of a provisional liquidator, should be transferred to the National Company Law Tribunal for further proceedings.

Analysis: The petition had been admitted, but no winding up order had been passed and no provisional liquidator had been appointed. In that situation, the controlling consideration was whether the winding up process had reached an irreversible stage. The Court applied the principle that, unless the proceedings have advanced to a stage where it would be impossible to set the clock back, the matter may be transferred to the NCLT to be dealt with under the insolvency framework.

Conclusion: The petition was held transferable to the NCLT, Ahmedabad Bench, and the Tribunal was directed to proceed with the matter from the stage at which it stood transferred.

Final Conclusion: The winding up proceedings were shifted out of the Company Court and to the NCLT for continuation in accordance with law from the existing stage.

Ratio Decidendi: A winding up petition can be transferred to the NCLT after admission, so long as no irreversible step such as a winding up order or takeover of assets by a liquidator has occurred.

---