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2022 (3) TMI 119 - HC - Companies LawTerritorial Jurisdiction of Delhi High Court - LLP is registered in Hyderabad - Access to the business accounts in possession of the respondent no.3/defendant no.3 - grievance of the respondent/plaintiff is that he has been denied access to the business accounts of the respondent no.3/defendant no.3 - entire basis of the respondent/plaintiff for filing the suit in Delhi is on account of the fact that the LLP carried out business in Delhi and that the products of the LLP are regularly sold in Delhi by means of online sales as well as through physical stores such as Nature’s Soul, which is in Delhi - HELD THAT:- Taking into account the nature of the disputes raised in the plaint being inter-se disputes of partners, the fact that business of the LLP is being carried out in Delhi would not vest the Courts of Delhi with jurisdiction to try and entertain the present suit. An LLP or any other business entity can carry out business in different parts of the country. But that would not mean that a suit, with regard to disputes between the partners, could be filed in any place where the business of the firm/LLP is carried out. What has been raised in the plaint is a dispute with regard to the business accounts of the LLP - Section 13 of the LLP Act provides that every LLP shall have a registered office, where all communications and notices may be addressed and shall be received. In terms of Sections 11 and 36 of the LLP Act, documents in respect of the LLP, including the incorporation document, the statement of account, annual return, etc., shall also be available for inspection with the Registrar of the concerned State in which the LLP is registered. In terms of Section 34(1) of the LLP Act, the books of account in respect of an LLP shall be maintained at the registered office. It is not the case of the respondent/plaintiff that any consent was taken to remove the books of account from the registered office to Delhi. Therefore, it would have to be taken that the books of accounts of the LLP are kept at its registered office in Hyderabad - The present suit impugns the denial of access to the business accounts of the petitioner no.3/defendant no.3 to the respondent/plaintiff. It has not been averred by the respondent/plaintiff that the books of account of the petitioner no.3/defendant no.3 are kept in Delhi. On such an emergence of facts from a reading of the plaint, in the opinion of this Court, the jurisdiction to entertain the present suit shall vest with the Courts in Hyderabad. It is evident from the facts of the present case that there is no principal or subordinate office of the LLP in the State of Delhi and neither are the books of accounts kept in Delhi, therefore, there is no cause of action in respect of the present suit, which is arising within the territorial limits of the Courts in Delhi. Furthermore, the parties by agreement cannot give jurisdiction to a Court, which otherwise does not have such jurisdiction - the Courts in Delhi lack the territorial jurisdiction to try and entertain the present suit. The petitioners/defendants have made out a case fit for interference by this Court under Article 227 of the Constitution of India as the Commercial Court has failed to appreciate that on a reading of the plaint, the Courts in Delhi lack the territorial jurisdiction to try and entertain the present suit - Petition allowed.
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