TMI Blog1987 (7) TMI 498X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e company till May 5, 1976, when the present managing director assumed office. The defendant was assisted in the management by her brother-in-law, Thirunavukkarasu Chettiar. The plaintiff company owns extensive lands cultivated on pannai basis and on lease and the income from the lands is considerable. The company also owns topes. The defendant, during her management, has collected paddy from the lands and realised income from the tope, negotiated agreements for sale and received advances without the sanction of the board and secreted these amounts. She has failed to convene annual meetings of directors and to submit accounts, balance-sheets and other relevant records. During her period of management, the properties of the company were ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... within such time as the court may be pleased to grant and may be audited by the company's auditor through court. She, therefore, prayed for the dismissal of the suit. On the above pleadings, the following issues were framed for trial: (1)Whether the court has no jurisdiction to try the suit? (2)Whether the suit is liable to be dismissed in view of the undertaking given by the defendant to produce the accounts? (3)To what relief is the plaintiff entitled? The learned Subordinate Judge took up for consideration issue No. 1 as a preliminary issue on the question of jurisdiction and held that the civil court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit and, consequently, he dismissed the suit without going into the other issues. It is ag ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cial Gazette and subject to such restrictions, limitations and conditions as it thinks fit, empower any District Court to exercise all or any of the jurisdiction conferred by this Act upon the court, not being the jurisdiction conferred ( a )in respect of companies generally, by sections 237, 391, 394, 395 and 397 to 407, both inclusive; ( b )in respect of companies with a paid-up share capital of not less than one lakh of rupees by Part VII (sections 425 to 560) and the other provisions of this Act relating to the winding-up of companies. (3) For the purposes of jurisdiction to wind up companies, the expression ' registered office' means the place which has longest been the registered office of the company during the six months imme ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette to empower any District Court to exercise all or any of the jurisdiction conferred by this Act upon the court. The court having jurisdiction under the Act, as defined under section 10 of the Act, shall have power to deal with all matters for which provision has been made in the said Act. Hence, in respect of all matters dealt with under the Companies Act, the court having jurisdiction is the court as denned under section 10 of the Act. But, in respect of matters not dealt with by the Companies Act, or for which the Companies Act does not provide remedies, the ordinary civil court alone will have jurisdiction. In other words, the civil court will have no jurisdiction only in r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... acts of malfeasance, misfeasance and non-feasance. Hence, I find that there is no provision in the Companies Act to deal with the subject-matter of this suit for accounts. The case on hand, does not, therefore, fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the court having jurisdiction under the Companies Act. It is the ordinary civil court which has jurisdiction in the matter. The learned Subordinate Judge is, therefore, in error in holding that the suit is barred under section 10 of the Act and in dismissing the same. The point is answered in favour of the appellant. In the result, the appeal is allowed, the judgment and decree of the court below is set aside and the suit is remitted to the court below for trial on merits. The court fee pai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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