Transfer of pending winding up petitions applies where proceedings remain at a preliminary stage after notice.

Pending winding up petitions that had reached only the notice stage and had not progressed further were treated as transferable to the National Company Law Tribunal under the statutory transfer regime. Section 434 of the Companies Act, 1956 and Rule 5 of the Companies (Transfer of Pending Proceedings) Rules, 2016 apply where the winding up matter is not at an advanced stage and no irreversible liquidation steps have been taken. Because the petitions remained at a preliminary stage with no substantive progress, they fell within the category intended for transfer, and the pending applications were transferred with them.

---

---

Issues: Whether the pending winding up petitions, in which only notice had been issued and no substantive progress had been made, were liable to be transferred to the National Company Law Tribunal under the statutory transfer regime.

Analysis: The governing framework under Section 434 of the Companies Act, 1956 and Rule 5 of the Companies (Transfer of Pending Proceedings) Rules, 2016 contemplates transfer of pending winding up matters to the Tribunal where the proceedings are not at an advanced stage. The relevant consideration is whether the company petition has progressed to a stage where transfer would be irreversible or would prejudice completed liquidation steps. On the facts, the petitions had remained at a preliminary stage after issuance of notice, with no further effective steps taken, and the matter therefore fell within the class of cases intended for transfer to the Tribunal.

Conclusion: The petitions were transferable to the National Company Law Tribunal and stood disposed of by transfer along with the pending applications.

---