Automatic substitution of deceased contributory's representatives means no separate application is needed, and limitation does not apply to mere notification.
Where a contributory dies after being placed on the list of contributories, his personal representatives, heirs and devisees become liable in due course of administration and are deemed contributories under the Companies Act. The representatives therefore step into the deceased contributory's position automatically, and no separate application is required merely to create liability or effect substitution. A filing that only notifies the court of the death does not attract limitation, so the application was not time-barred.
Issues: Whether the application to bring the legal representatives of a deceased contributory on record was necessary and whether it was barred by limitation.
Analysis: The liquidation proceedings were governed by Act VI of 1882 by virtue of section 284 of the Indian Companies Act, 1913. Under section 126 of the Indian Companies Act, where a contributory dies after being placed on the list of contributories, his personal representatives, heirs and devisees become liable in due course of administration and are deemed to be contributories accordingly. On that construction, the representatives step into the deceased contributory's position automatically, so no separate application was required merely to create liability or substitute them. Since the step was only a notification to the Court of the death, no question of limitation arose.
Conclusion: The application was not barred by limitation and the representatives of the deceased contributory were to be treated as contributories in his place.
TaxTMI 
AI Drafter ✕
TaxTMI 
