2022 (8) TMI 767

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....titioner decided to strike off and dissolve the Company, as provided in Section 560 of the Companies Act, 1956. With the objective of easing the process of striking off, the Government of India, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, had issued General Circular No.36/2011, containing the guidelines for Fast Track Exit mode for defunct companies. In accordance with the procedure prescribed in the guidelines, the petitioner submitted Ext.P3, requesting to strike off Margin Free Kuries Private Ltd from the Register of Companies. In response, the second respondent issued Ext.P5 notice intimating the petitioner that, the company's name will be struck off from the register and the Company will be dissolved, at the expiration of 30 days from the date ....

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..... Sukumar Nainan Oommen, learned Counsel for the petitioner, contended that the second respondent had committed gross illegality in disqualifying the petitioner and deactivating his DIN under 164(2) of the Companies Act, 2013, on the specious reason that the annual returns of Margin Free Kuries Pvt Ltd, which had already been struck off from the register and stood dissolved, had not been submitted for a continuous period of three years. It is submitted that the technical glitch in the official website of the respondents had resulted in the status of the company being shown as 'under process of striking off, even after the company was dissolved. Going by the Guidelines issued under Section 560 of the Companies Act, 1956, the Registrar should....

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....e rise to tortious liability. 4. Adv. B .Ramachandran, learned Counsel appearing for the respondents, submitted that the company, M/s.Margin Free Kuries Pvt. Ltd, defaulted the filing of statutory returns for three consecutive years and had thereby incurred disqualification under Section 164(2) of the Act. It is contended that, disqualification being the statutory fall out of failure to file returns, no question of issuing notice prior to the disqualification arises, and, for that reason, no violation of natural justice can be alleged or assumed. In support of the contention, reliance is placed on the decision of the High Court of Calcutta in Nabendu Dutta v. Arindam Mukherjee [(2004) 55 SCL 146 (Cal)]. It is pointed out that the second ....

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.... the guidelines require the Registrar to examine the application for striking off before issuing notice to the company under Section 560(3) of the Companies Act, 1956. The further requirement under Section 560(3) is that, on expiration of 30 days and on being satisfied that the application is otherwise in order, the Registrar shall strike the company's name off the Register and send a notice for publication in the Official Gazette.  The applicant company will stand dissolved from the date of publication of the notification. Ext.P6 reveals that the notice regarding striking off and dissolution of Margin Free Kuries Pvt Ltd was forwarded to the Government of India Press. As such, the entire procedure contemplated under Section 560, and t....