1981 (8) TMI 240

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....he cause-title which reads as follows:-- "Ruby General Insurance Company Limited of which the management is vested in the Government of India by the provisions of the General Insurance (Emergency Provisions) Act 17 of 1971 having its registered office at Ruby House at 6, India Exchange Place, Calcutta-1 within the aforesaid jurisdiction." 2. The cause-title indisputably mentions the provisions of General Insurance (Emergency Provisions) Act 17 of 1971. The suit in question was filed on the 18th Sept. 1975. In para 2 of the plaint it has been stated that the defendant, a public limited company carrying on business in General Insurance, was taken over and its management was vested in the Government of India by virtue of the provis....

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.... no question of the present applicant being taken by surprise and if it was mis-description the plaint should be allowed to be amended on an oral prayer which was made at the time of hearing of the application before the learned trial Judge. The question, therefore, is whether the description of the defendant in the cause-title was a mere misdescription or was against a dissolved company. It is well settled that a company ceases to exist on dissolution. For this proposition reliance was placed on the observations of the Supreme Court in the case of Narendra Bahadur v. Shanker Lal, where the Supreme Court observed that after a company was dissolved the liquidator could not thereafter claim to represent the company and execute a registered de....

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....ved company. Our attention was also drawn to the observations of the Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court in the case of Modi Sugar Mills v. Union of India, 1978 Tax LR 673 (All) where at page 675 of the report the Allhabad High Court observed that under civil law it was well known that an order against the dead person was a nullity. The Allahabad High Court applied this principle in the case of an assessment against the dissolved company. Counsel for the respondent also drew our attention to the decision in the case of Hiralal v. Kali Nath . There, at p. 200 of the report, the Supreme Court observed that the Court was lacking inherent jurisdiction, if the suit was against a person, who was dead at the time of the institution of the s....

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....y should not be liable for any loss or damages after the expiry of 12 months from the happening of loss or damages unless the claim was the subject matter of pending arbitration clause. In this case an attempt was made for the arbitration on behalf of the plaintiff. But there (as?) was clear from the affidavit, it was contended on behalf of the respondent, by the letter dated 21st March. 73 which was reiterated on 9th July, 1973 and 27th Aug. 1973 there was total repudiation of the claim and the question of the right of repudiation could, in any event, be not subject matter of arbitration because the arbitration clause covered only a limited dispute and that clause provided, inter alia, as follows:-- "If any difference arises as to th....