Right to appeal in supervisory winding-up upheld, but liquidators' applications dismissed as time-barred under statutory limitation.

Whether appeals under Section 186 lie where winding-up is conducted under court supervision: the court applied the principle that orders made in supervisory winding-up are on the same footing as orders in winding-up by the Court and therefore appeals under Section 186 are competent. Whether liquidators' applications were time-barred: the court found the applications were filed more than three years after share forfeiture, accepted the limitation defence and dismissed the applications as barred by the statutory limitation; accordingly the appeals succeed on competency but fail on limitation.

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Issues: (i) Whether appeals under Section 186 of the Indian Companies Act are competent where the company is being wound up under the supervision of the Court. (ii) Whether the liquidators' applications were barred by time as being made more than three years after forfeiture of the shares.

Issue (i): Whether appeals under Section 186 are competent in winding-up proceedings conducted under the supervision of the Court.

Analysis: Section 225 places orders made in winding-up under the supervision of the Court on the same footing as orders made where the winding-up is by the Court; prior decisions applied that principle to permit appeals in supervisory winding-up proceedings.

Conclusion: Appeals under Section 186 are competent in proceedings where winding-up is under the supervision of the Court.

Issue (ii): Whether the liquidators' applications were barred by the three-year period following forfeiture of shares.

Analysis: The applications were submitted more than three years after the shares were forfeited and therefore fall within the statutory time bar applicable to such applications; the respondents conceded the force of that limitation argument.

Conclusion: The liquidators' applications were time-barred and must be dismissed.

Final Conclusion: Appeals are competent but, on the merits, the applications are barred by limitation and are dismissed; the appeals are allowed to that extent.

Ratio Decidendi: Orders made in winding-up proceedings under the supervision of the Court are equivalent for appeal purposes to orders in winding-up by the Court, but applications made beyond the statutory three-year period after forfeiture are barred by limitation.

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