TMI Blog1989 (10) TMI 208X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ny was in liquidation, first dividend of Rs. 59,662.41, second dividend of Rs. 65,050.81 and a third dividend of Rs. 1,45,457 were declared on February 22, 1973, May 11, 1973, and November 20, 1975, respectively. Out of the aforesaid amount of dividend, a sum of Rs. 2,24,858.29 remained unclaimed. Under the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 555 of the Companies Act, 1956 (for short, "the Act"), the official liquidator paid the dividend payable to the shareholders into the public account of India in the Reserve Bank in a separate account which is known as the Companies Liquidation Account. A Company Petition No. 15 of 1979 entitled M.C. Golcha v. Official Liquidator was filed in this court on behalf of the management of the comp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... -petitioners that the company has been in liquidation up to November 2, 1979, and all the provisions of the Act and the Rules are applicable. That apart, in the scheme of compromise as sanctioned by this court on December 15, 1975, there is no specific provision that the unclaimed dividend would be transferred back to the company after the company goes out of liquidation. A bare perusal of section 555 of the Act will show that such sums or amounts of unpaid dividends which the liquidator is required to pay into the public account of India in the Reserve Bank of India in a separate account to be known as the Companies Liquidation Account, cannot be returned to the company even after passing of an order of deliquidation. The amount of divid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d and Mill Co. Ltd. v. Union of India [1985] 58 Comp Cas 513 (Bom.), it has been held that the expression "any person" claiming to be entitled to any money paid into the Companies Liquidation Account had a wide meaning and could not be confined to a creditor or member or a contributory of the company. The expression could also include the company itself which went out of liquidation and later regained its original status and position. Thus, it could be held that the company would fall within the expression "any person", but it was not the person entitled to the money lying in the Companies Liquidation Account as it was neither entitled under section 555 to be paid the undistributed assets of the contributories nor was the company entitle ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
