Exclusive winding-up jurisdiction extends to liquidator's debt-recovery suit as part of asset realisation in banking company liquidation.

A suit filed by the official liquidator of a banking company to recover a debt due to the company was treated as a matter relating to the winding up of the company. The expression "relating to the winding up" was read broadly and, with "arising out of the winding up," was held to confer special and exclusive jurisdiction on the High Court for connected winding-up matters. A liquidator's suit for asset realisation, brought with the court's sanction, was characterised as part of the winding-up process rather than an ordinary contractual enforcement action. The construction was supported by the legislative purpose of concentrating winding-up proceedings in one court and avoiding delay.

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Issues: Whether a suit filed by the official liquidator of a banking company to recover a debt due to the company is a matter relating to or arising out of the winding up of the banking company, so that the High Court has exclusive jurisdiction under sections 45A and 45B of the Banking Companies Act, 1949, and the jurisdiction of the City Civil Court is ousted.

Analysis: The expression "relating to the winding up" was treated as wider than "arising out of the winding up", and the two provisions were read together as conferring special and exclusive jurisdiction on the High Court for matters connected with winding up. A suit instituted by the official liquidator with the court's sanction was viewed as a step taken for the realisation of assets and the expeditious completion of winding up, not merely as an ordinary enforcement of pre-existing contractual rights. The legislative purpose of concentrating winding-up matters in one court and avoiding delay supported this construction, and analogous insolvency and bankruptcy provisions were relied upon to show that the jurisdiction extends to claims against third parties and pre-existing debts pursued by the insolvency representative.

Conclusion: The suit fell within the High Court's jurisdiction under section 45B, and the City Civil Court's jurisdiction was excluded under section 45A; the decision dismissing the suit was and the appeal succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: A suit brought by the official liquidator of a banking company for recovery of the company's assets is a matter relating to the winding up of the company, and therefore falls within the exclusive jurisdiction conferred on the High Court by the Banking Companies Act, 1949.

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