Home Case Index All Cases Companies Law Companies Law + HC Companies Law - 2019 (3) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2019 (3) TMI 963 - CALCUTTA HIGH COURTApplication for grant of injunction made - maintainability of the suit - High court jurisdiction in the matter - suppression of material facts - praying for similar reliefs simultaneously before two different forums - HELD THAT:- It can be said without hesitation that a person whose case is based on falsehood has no right to approach the Court. He can be summarily thrown out at any stage of the litigation. A litigant, who approaches the Court, is bound to produce all the documents executed by him which are relevant to the litigation. If he withholds a vital document in order to gain advantage on the other side then he would be guilty of playing fraud on the court. Furthermore, a person who seeks equitable relief from the court must come to the court with clean hands and disclose all facts which are relevant to the case. In my considered view, the statement in the plaint that the plaintiff is intending to file an application before the NCLT, when the truth was that the application had already been filed is a case of misrepresentation and amounts to suppression of material facts. On this count itself, the application for injunction needs to be dismissed. Proviso to Section 58(2) states “provided that any contract or arrangement between two or more persons in respect of transfer of securities shall be enforceable as a contract”. This power under Section 58 read with Rule 70(5)(b) that gives the power to the Tribunal to generally decide any question which is necessary or expedient to decide in connection with the application for rectification read with Section 70(4)(a) that gives the power to the Tribunal to pass any interim order including any orders as to injunction or stay makes it clear that it is the Tribunal that has the power to decide all issues in relation to transfer of shares by way of an oral or written contract. The very fact that the Tribunal has been empowered with these powers leads one to the inference that all issues relating to transfer of shares, registration and rectification of register of members and any matter incidental to the same including oppression and mismanagement would be retained by the Tribunal. Under these circumstances, it is of the prima facie view that this High Court does not have jurisdiction in the above matter. Plaintiff praying for similar reliefs simultaneously before two different forums - HELD THAT:- A litigant cannot be allowed to seek similar reliefs in different forums at the same time. It would have been a different matter if the application before the NCLT had not been filed or was withdrawn before the filing of the suit. In the event both the applications before the NCLT and the interim application before this Court are allowed to run parallelly, a dichotomous situation would arise as the vital issues involved in both the suit and NCLT petition are the same. The rectification sought for before the Tribunal also proceeds on the argument that the defendants have acted in a fraudulent manner and did not register the name of the plaintiffs as shareholders. The same argument finds place in the suit and the interim application before this Court. The two parallel proceedings may result in diametrically opposite orders being passed with regard to the same core issue. Such a situation is not acceptable and contemplated in law. The present application for an ad interim order of injunction cannot be allowed on two counts – (a) suppression of material facts and (b) the plaintiff praying for similar reliefs simultaneously before this Court and NCLT that would require adjudication on the identical core issue.
|