TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (4) TMI 653
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....avour off respondent nos. 5, 6 & 7 upon determination of lease of erstwhile lessees, being proforma respondent nos. 1 & 2. Admittedly, petitioners extended credit facilities to erstwhile lessees of those tea gardens of proforma respondent nos. 1 and 2, for improvement of tea gardens. All the existing liabilities of those tea gardens of erstwhile lessees being proforma respondent nos. 1 and 2 were, thus, required to be assumed by the subsequent lessees, being respondent nos. 5, 6 and 7 before execution of fresh lease in their favour on the strength of such notifications, writ petitioners contended. It was mentioned in such Government notification dated 20th August, 2009, that the prayer for execution of lease afresh upon determination of previous lease will be considered subject to confirmation of taking over all past liabilities, including outstanding bank loans, workers' dues, Provident Fund dues, and other statutory liabilities etc. in respect of the said tea gardens, by the subsequent lessees. By subsequent Government notification dated 3rd August, 2018, each of the respondent nos. 5, 6 & 7 was requested to clear all past liabilities, including bank dues, workers' dues, Prov....
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....shna Chatterjee, learned senior advocate representing respondent nos. 5, 6 and 7, submitted that the erstwhile lessee, namely Tondoo Tea Co. Pvt. Ltd. had already gone into liquidation, and Official Liquidator had already taken symbolic possession of the tea garden under Tondoo Tea Co. Pvt. Ltd. Upon determination of lease of previous leases, the tea gardens supposedly went back to State Government under Section 108 of Transfer of Property Act. According to Mr. Chatterjee, the subsequent lessees were under obligation to assume liability of erstwhile lessees upon determination of their lease to the extent of statutory liability in respect of the tea gardens of company going into liquidation. Referring the principle of Ejusdem generis, as available in the Black's Law Dictionary, Mr. Chatterjee proposed that the canon of statutory construction would be where general words follow the enumeration of particular classes of things, the general words will be construed as applying only to things of the same general class as those enumerated. Upon referring such principle, Mr. Chatterjee submitted that notification issued from Government end requiring assumption of existing liability of t....
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....ion attached therewith. As regards the then existing liabilities of the erstwhile lessees/tea company, learned advocate for the State also proposed for restrictive application of the liability, confining its scope to the statutory liability. Mr. Ghosh also contended that though he had no sufficient explanation, supported by documents connected therewith to reveal that there had been adequate adherence to the conditions imposed in the Government notifications for entering into a new transaction of executing a lease afresh in favour of respondent nos. 5-7, upon determination of the previous lessees/tea garden companies, but it would be inconsequential for the present purpose, on the score that fresh lease deeds had already been executed in the first week of August, 2019, followed by its registration on 2nd August, 2019, i.e. much before the interim order being granted in this case, upon anticipating that no formal leave of Court is necessary for execution of lease afresh, subsequent to the dismissal of a SLP (C) No. 1178 of 2014 with SLP (C) No. 2164 of 2014 of Apex Court for the smooth running of Tondoo Tea Garden, and thereby advancing a stand for the State respondents that the n....
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....ator had already taken symbolic possession of the companies going into liquidation. Subsequent to the order of winding up, without any controversy the writ petitioners themselves filed an affidavit of report of debt before the Official Liquidator setting up their dues payable and receivable from the concerned companies, now in liquidation. The execution of fresh lease deeds cannot be frustrated merely upon visualization of the contractual obligation of the beneficiaries/erstwhile lessees towards the writ petitioners in consequence of a commercial transaction extending credit facilities to the proforma respondents, now going into liquidation, when there is no apparent public law element involved in the instant contractual obligation. The decision so referred by the writ petitioners on the score would hardly find its scope to be applied over the facts and circumstances of this case. Profit was sought to be capitalized by writ petitioners by citing a decision reported in (1974) 2 SCC 231 rendered in the case of Union of India Vs. Raman Iron Foundary, wherein discussion was there for perfectly understanding the meaning of "debt owing" and "debt in praesenti". According to Apex Court,....
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....nterest prior to making transfer of assets of company in liquidation, but till date nothing could be recovered. Therefore, the execution of fresh lease was intended to be stalled pending realization of unpaid amount, given as loan amount to the erstwhile lessees in connection with the transaction already entered into between the parties. Without any controversy, writ petitioners are neither assignee, nor representative in interest of the erstwhile lessees being proforma respondent nos. 1 and 2. Surprisingly, though, the writ petitioners endeavoured to maintain an action proposing issuance of mandamus simply to frustrate execution of lease afresh upon respondent nos. 5-7, but no steps were taken before any court of law in civil jurisdiction to challenge the previous determination of lease of erstwhile lessees alleging illegalities, if there be any. Winding up order having passed against the proforma respondents, followed by submission of affidavit of report of debt before the Official Liquidator, in consequence of the proforma respondents/companies going into liquidation, the dues payable by the said companies (in liquidation) become a subject matter of Official Liquidator. The i....