TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1992 (4) TMI 207
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....ered by and between the petitioners, the company and one Bharat Carbon and Ribbon Manufacturing Co. Ltd. on August 24, 1988, the company agreed to pay to the petitioners the sum of Rs. 12,00,000 due and payable by the company to the said Bharat Carbon and Ribbon Manufacturing Co. Ltd. together with interest thereon. Since, despite repeated requests and demands, the company failed and neglected to pay the said amount to the petitioners, the petitioners by their advocate's letter dated September 8, 1989, duly served a statutory notice of demand upon the company under the provisions of section 434 of the said Act and demanded payment of Rs. 20,50,946 with further interest from the company as mentioned therein. The company did not pay the amoun....
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....rms of the provisions of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act. By the said order, the State Bank of India was appointed as the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction's operating agency under the provisions of section 17(3) of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act in order to prepare a scheme in relation to the company as provided in the said order. The fact that the company was declared a sick industrial company on April 2, 1990, is not in dispute. Mr. Madan, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the company, has submitted that since the company was declared a sick unit under the provisions of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act prior to presentation of the petition by the....
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....ation for consent of the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction has already been made on behalf of the petitioners which is pending. It is also the submission of Mr. Thakkar that as the company did not file any affidavit to oppose the admission of the petition till January 16, 1992, and did not raise any issue as to the maintainability thereof on the ground of the company having been declared as a sick unit, the company is now estopped from urging such plea or raising such contentions. The Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act has been enacted to make in the public interest, special provisions with a view to securing the timely detection of sick and potentially sick companies owning industrial undertakings, the sp....
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.... relating to an industrial company is pending, then, notwithstanding anything contained in the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), or any other law or the memorandum and articles of association of the industrial company or any other instrument having effect under the said Act or other law, no proceedings for the winding up of the industrial company or for execution, distress or the like against any of the properties of the industrial company or for the appointment of a receiver in respect thereof shall lie or be proceeded with further, except with the consent of the Board or, as the case may be, the appellate authority." In respect of a company against which an inquiry under section 16 of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) A....
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....f of winding up proceedings by the court. In the instant case, after the inquiry against the company under section 16 had commenced, the petition has been filed without the consent of the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction and as such, is not maintainable since the filing itself is void ab initio, the court having no jurisdiction to entertain the same. The provisions of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act have overriding effect over the provisions of the said Act. The inquiry commenced against the company is still pending and the scheme is under preparation. Since filing of the petition itself is void, the pendency of the application of the petitioners with the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruct....