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TMI Blog1934 (6) TMI 26X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ister of members of the Bank. The Bank was incorporated as a limited liability company in 1920 and had its Head Office at Gujranwala. It went into voluntary liquidation in June 1924, but in February 1927 the High Court ordered that the winding-up be done officially and appointed Messrs. Billimoria & Co. as the Official Liquidators. The High Court also passed an order under Section 164 of the Act that all further proceedings in the liquidation be taken in the Court of the District Judge, Lahore. In April 1927 the Official Liquidator, under Section 220 of the Act, adopted the list of contributories as settled by the voluntary liquidator about two years before, which showed the respondent to be the holder of 500 shares of Rs. 20 each, having ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n, who was the chief promoter and Managing Agent of the Bank as well as of the Hindustan Assurance & Mutual Benefit Society Ltd., and under whom the respondent was employed at the time in the insurance company as the Manager of its Lahore Office; that he had signed the application at the request of Mangal Sen on the clear understanding that it would net be used until and unless the respondent had actually paid Rs. 2,500 on account of application and allotment money. He averred that he never paid any money at all, and that Mangal Sen had fraudulently entered his name in the Register of shareholders without his knowledge or assent, and in contravention of the aforesaid stipulation with a view to do harm to him. He alleged that the entries in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... prima facie evidence of the truth of the matters purporting to be recorded therein. It is clear, therefore, that in view of the entries in the Capital Register and other books (c)f the company, the onus lay heavily upon the respondent to show that the entries were incorrect and had been made fraudulently or without sufficient cause. The learned Judge, while holding that the respondent had signed the application for 500 shares, has assumed that the words "Rs. 2,500" as they appear in the application were in a different handwriting from that of the respondent. There is no allegation or proof that this is so, and there is nothing in the writing itself which might lend support to the learned Judge's assumption. Equally unsustainable is his sug ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stion for consideration! therefore, is whether his explanation can be accepted, that he had signed the application on the understanding that it was to be used on certain conditions, and that he presided over the meeting of the shareholders merely to oblige Mangal Sen, and not with the knowledge that he was a shareholder. It is conceded that the respondent is a businessman from Bombay, who has been in insurance business for a long time. In 1918, he joined the Hindustan Assurance and Mutual Benefit Society as its manager and had held that office for about four years before making the application. He cannot, therefore, pretend that he was unaware of the rules of business relating to joint stock companies. If he had made the application subject ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... therein, but he made no attempt to do so. I unhesitatingly reject the respondent's explanation on these points and hold that he attended three meetings of the shareholders in April and October 1922, at one of which he presided and moved the principal resolution. It is hardly necessary to say that the greatest importance attaches to his presence at the meeting of the 14th of April, which was only a week after he had signed the application for shares and had handed it over to Mangal Sen. Mr. Ralli has strenuously argued that there is no proof that the respondent paid Rs. 2,500 as share and allotment money and he pointed out that the attempt by the Liquidator to prove that the payment by cheques on the Chartered Bank of India at Lahore and B ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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