Registered office notice requirement is mandatory in winding-up proceedings; service at another address does not satisfy the statute.

Service of a winding-up demand had to be made at the company's registered office because the Companies Act treated that address as the legally designated place for statutory notices. Service at another correspondence address did not satisfy the mandatory notice requirement. Failure to comply with that prescribed mode of service vitiated the winding-up proceedings and affected the maintainability of the petition. The appeal succeeded, the order admitting the winding-up petition was set aside, and the company petition was dismissed.

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Issues: (i) Whether notice under Section 434 of the Companies Act, 1956 had to be served at the company's registered office. (ii) Whether failure to serve notice at the registered office vitiated the winding up proceedings.

Issue (i): Whether notice under Section 434 of the Companies Act, 1956 had to be served at the company's registered office.

Analysis: Section 434(1)(a) requires a creditor's demand to be delivered at the company's registered office. Section 146 recognises the registered office as the place to which all communications and notices may be addressed. The scheme of the Act treats the registered office as the legally designated address for notices, and correspondence at a different business address does not amount to compliance with the statutory requirement.

Conclusion: The notice had to be served at the registered office, and service at another address was not sufficient compliance.

Issue (ii): Whether failure to serve notice at the registered office vitiated the winding up proceedings.

Analysis: The requirement under Section 434(1)(a) was treated as mandatory. The Court held that deviation from the prescribed mode of service defeats the statutory mandate and cannot be cured by the fact that the parties were otherwise corresponding at another address. On that basis, the defect in notice affected the maintainability of the winding up petition.

Conclusion: The failure to serve notice at the registered office vitiated the proceedings.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded, the order admitting the winding up petition was set aside, and the company petition was dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute prescribes service of a winding up demand at the registered office, strict compliance is mandatory and service at another correspondence address does not satisfy the statutory notice requirement.

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