TMI Blog1987 (5) TMI 342X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re its shareholders and directors. The Registrar of Companies instituted the aforesaid eight complaints against the petitioners in the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jalandhar, on March 18, 1986. The allegations contained in these complaints are that the petitioners did not submit the annual returns and balance-sheets for the years 1981-82, 1982-83 and 1983-84 in accordance with sections 159 and 220 of the Companies Act (hereinafter called "the Act"). It is prayed that the petitioners be, therefore, punished under section 162 of the Act. Section 159 provides that every company having a share capital shall, within sixty days from the day on which each of the annual general meetings is held, prepare and file with the Registrar a re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng offences or not. It was held by the Calcutta High Court in Ajit Kumar Sarkar v. Assistant Registrar of Companies [1979] 49 Comp. Cas. 909, that failure to file annual returns under section 159 is a continuing offence. This view was followed by the Kerala High Court in Sudarsan Chits ( India ) Ltd. v. Registrar of Companies, Kerala [1986] 59 Comp. Cas. 261 . However, a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court overruled the judgment in the case of Ajit Kumar Sarkar [1979] 49 Comp. Cas. 909 in National Cotton Mills v. Assistant Registrar of Companies, West Bengal [1984] 56 Comp. Cas. 222. The learned judges held that in order to constitute a continuing offence, it must arise "out of a failure to obey or comply with a rule o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t does not render the initial default a continuous one. It cannot be said that the offence is repeated or committed from day-to-day after the initial default. It was clarified that it is only where the offence is committed from day-to-day or repeated from day-to-day that it can be called a continuing offence. This view was reiterated by the Calcutta High Court subsequently in Nripendra Kumar Ghosh v. Registrar of Companies, West Bengal [1985] 58 Comp. Cas. 672. Similar penalty being provided for the non-fulfilment of the requirement of section 220 of the Act in section 162, the failure to file balance-sheet and accounts was not considered to be a continuing offence on the same reasoning as in Central Manbhum Coal Co. P. Ltd. v. Ass ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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