Judgment

BEG, J. :- These are five appeals by grant of certificates under Art. 133(1) (a) of the Constitution by the Mysore High Court where the orders of the learned Company Judge, in misfeasance proceedings, under Section 45H of the Banking Companies Act, 1949, (hereinafter referred to as the Act ), read with Section 235 of the Indian Companies Act, 1913, (hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1913 ) had been modified by a Division Bench. These proceedings were instituted by the Official Liquidator against seven Directors, including the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Managing Director, and the Cashiers, the Accountant, two Branch Managers, another officer, and an auditor of the Supreme Bank of India Ltd., Belgaum, (hereinafter referred to as the Bank under liquidation. The Bank, incorporated on 27-5-1939, commenced business on 6th October, 1939. It suspended business on 27-11-1954 as a result of gross mismanagement which enabled large sums of money to be misappropriated and false and fictitious entries to be made in its account books.

2. Out of the seven Directors mentioned above, five, namely, S. G. Pant, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, S. K. Samant, the ma