2002 (3) TMI 915
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....s 'the company ') on the basis of an agreement entered between the company and the Bihar State Electricity Board on 5.12.89. The company failed to pay the electric dues and, in the circumstances. Certificate case (Electric) No. 34/95 -96 was initiated by the Certificate Officer, Siwan, on the requisition of the Electricity Board. In the column of the Certificate - debtors the name of the appellant was also mentioned besides that of the company i.e. M/s Satyam Roller Flour Mill Pvt. Ltd. The appellant prayed for deletion of his name on the ground that the liability in question being corporate liability, his inclusion in the certificate proceeding was unwarranted and illegal. The plea found favour with the Certificate Officer who by h....
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.... nature of liability which is subject matter of the proceeding, counsel placed reliance on Damodar Prasad Nathani & anr. V/s. The State of Bihar & ors., 1999 (1) PLJR 522, Smt. Sarla Devi Agrawala V/s. The State of Bihar & ors., 1879 BBCJ 213, Bejai Singh Dugar V/s. Certificate Officer, Bhagalpur, 1965. BLJR 341, M.P. Agarwalla and anr. V/s. Union of India and ors., 1963 BLJR 127 and Harihar Prasad V/s. Bansi Missir & ors., AIR 1931 Patna 321. He also referred to decisions in (2001) 9 SCC 275, M/s Filterco and anr. V/s. Commissioner of Sales Tax, M.P. and anr. (1986) 2 SCC 103. Collector of Customs & Excise, Cochin & ors. V/s. M/s A.S. Bava, AIR 1968 Supreme Court 13, and Dr. (Smt.) Kuntesh Gupta V/s. Management of Hindu Kanya Mahavidyalay,....
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....of the company cannot be enforced against its officers including Director or Managing Director. Amongst the decision cited by the counsel pointed reference may be made to two of them rendered in the context of the proceedings under the Public Demands Recovery Act, namely, those of Bejai Singh Dugar V/s. Certificate Officer, Bhagalpur (supra) and Damodar Prasad Nathani V/s. State of Bihar (supra). In the former case a Division Bench of this Court after a detailed consideration of the matter observed that execution of certificate against the Managing Director of any company or for that matter any authority of the company for the dues of the company cannot be resorted to. Any debt payable by an incorporated company can be realised only by seiz....
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.... in getting the name of the appellant mentioned is to complete the description of the certificate -debtor. He referred to the contents of the application filed by the Board on 27.9.90 pursuant to which eventually the Collector passed the impugned order. Paragraphs 4 and 5 of the said application are as follows: '' "That Kanhaiya Lal is in his individual capacity has been removed from the record of the case but mill is to be sued through him, it is appropriate that his name should be recorded in the record. That it is appropriate that the certificate proceeding be shown, in the name of Satyam Roller Flour Mill Makdum Sarai, Siwan through Kanhaiya Lal Managing Director of the Mill." 6. Though, as fairly stated by the coun....
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.... remedy cannot be treated as absolute bar to entertain a writ petition so as to amount to denudation of the power of the High Court under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution which power the High Court can always exercise in the facts and circumstances of the case, notwithstanding that some alternative remedy is available to the person aggrieved which he has not exhausted. In the case of Sawar Mal Choudhary V/s. State Bank of India (supra) is concerned, the provision regarding deposit of 40% of the certificate dues as a condition precedent for preferring an appeal or revision under section 60 or section 62 of the Act, as the case may be, was not considered to be onerous so as to provide a ground to the certificate - debtor to prefer writ pe....